Atlanta Braves NLDS Preview If Season Ended Today: Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies squeaked into the playoffs despite finishing third in the NL East in 2022. They took care of the Cardinals in the first round in two games. Despite using their top two starting pitchers in the Wild Card round, they beat the Braves three games to one in the NLDS and went on to represent the National League in the World Series.
Like the Cubs, the Phillies have a starting pitcher vying for the Cy Young. Zack Wheeler is having another phenomenal season for the Phillies with a 3.49 ERA and 192 strikeouts in 170 innings pitched.
On the offensive side, Trea Turner and Bryce Harper's bats have come alive for the Phillies as of late. Harper had been sapped of his power as he recovered from Tommy John surgery and Turner had just lost his home run swing.
On June 30th, Harper's slugging percentage was just .386. He hung around .400 until the first week of August. Since August 5th, Harper has hit 11 of his 16 homers on the season. In that time, Harper is slashing .305/.424/.670. At the same time, Trea Turner has turned up the heat. Turner has 13 homers in his past 20 games. Between August 28 and September 11, Turner hit 10 homers in an 11-game span.
The Phillies present a more frightening proposition than the Cubs for sure. let's take a look at how their pitching stacks up to the Braves on the next slide.