Philly Leader

LOS ANGELES -- It has been 26 days since the Phillies swept the Dodgers in a three-game series at Citizens Bank Park. This victory extended their lead over L.A. to 6 1/2 games for the best record in the National League.

However, following Monday night’s 5-3 loss to the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, this lead has dwindled to a half-game. The Phillies have lost 14 out of their last 19 games, causing them to refrain from closely monitoring the standings each morning.

“We have two months left of the regular season pretty much,” Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola said. “We’re honestly just focused on winning. We’re not really looking at the standings. If you look at the standings, you get caught up in that instead of trying to win baseball games. We’ve just got to take it game by game and series by series. We’ve got to go out tomorrow … it’s a new day.”

The Phillies hoped Sunday’s 6-0 victory over the Mariners in Seattle might spark a turnaround, though Monday's loss does not necessarily negate that possibility. Despite Nola pitching well initially, he missed his location on a few pitches in the third inning, allowing the Dodgers to take a 4-2 lead.

Meanwhile, key hits eluded the Phillies after scoring twice in the second inning.

“We’re grinding right now,” Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos said. “You know? I think that we’re just in a funk. But I will say that our dugout was very good today. All our attention I think was more on the field than it was on our iPads. I think that we were more in the competition. Again, it was a good baseball game. Right? A couple things here, a couple things there, and it changes. But I feel like they beat us today. We didn’t beat ourselves. We didn’t lose. We played a good baseball game. We also have to realize that’s a good baseball team over there.”

A win on Tuesday would give the Dodgers the best record in the National League.

Both teams are contenders for finishing with the league's best record and securing home-field advantage through at least the NL Championship Series—a potential four games at either Citizens Bank Park or Dodger Stadium.

If Philadelphia wins one game this week in L.A., they will clinch their season series against Los Angeles due to last month’s sweep and gain an edge should both teams finish with identical records.

“It’s a big series,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said before Monday's game.

Should Los Angeles sweep this series, intradivision records would become crucial tiebreakers; currently, Philadelphia holds an edge with its performance against NL East opponents compared to L.A.’s against NL West teams.

Despite these considerations, none of these tiebreakers matter if Philadelphia resumes winning consistently—ensuring control over their own destiny remains firmly within grasp.

“The way I go about it is tomorrow, we have a baseball game,” Castellanos said. “If we do the best we can to prepare, that puts us in the best position to win. And if we win tomorrow, that’s a good thing.”