Philly Leader

Bryce Harper is well-versed in Phillies history, particularly the events of 2007. He understands that no lead is entirely secure. The Phillies' lead in the National League East was reduced to six games with 37 remaining after a 3-1 loss to the Braves at Truist Park on Tuesday night. While their odds of clinching their first division title since 2011 remain favorable, they must now monitor not only the Braves but also the Dodgers and Brewers.

The Phillies (73-52) are tied with the Brewers (73-52) and trail the Dodgers (74-52) by half a game, pending their result against the Mariners on Tuesday night, for the best record in the National League. Should Philadelphia finish with the third-best record in the NL, they would not receive a first-round bye and would instead host an NL Wild Card Series. If the season ended on Tuesday, they would face the No. 6-seeded Braves.

“It should be a big series for us, too,” Harper stated. “Obviously, we’ve got a long way to go. We’ve got a month of baseball left. Just come in here and win games. It doesn’t matter how far [ahead] you are or anything like that. Obviously, you guys know what happened [late] in 2007. We’ve just got to keep going and keep doing our thing.”

In 2007, the Phillies overcame a seven-game deficit with 17 games remaining to win their division.

“These are important games that we need to win,” said Zack Wheeler, who struck out eight over six innings while allowing two runs.

Philadelphia appears well-positioned to win this series and secure the division despite Atlanta's significant injuries to key players such as Ronald Acuña Jr., Austin Riley, Spencer Strider, and Ozzie Albies.

“It’s a good club,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson remarked before the game. “They can beat anybody on any given day. You can’t take anything for granted. You have to go out and you’ve got to fight... We have a long way to go.”

The Phillies had built a 9½-game lead over Atlanta by July 11 after sweeping the Dodgers at Citizens Bank Park but have since struggled.

On July 12, Philadelphia released Whit Merrifield due to his underperformance (.199 average with three home runs). Merrifield signed with Atlanta on July 22 and contributed significantly against his former team on Tuesday by tripling and scoring in one inning while doubling later.

“Yeah, he’ll probably get nine hits this series,” Harper commented dryly about Merrifield's performance.

Merrifield acknowledged mixed feelings: “But to contribute and play well against the team that told you that you weren’t good enough... it feels good."

Marcell Ozuna homered off Wheeler in the sixth inning for Atlanta's lead; José Alvarado walked four batters in less than an inning during relief work -- becoming only the eleventh reliever in club history to do so -- leading another run for Atlanta.

Braves right-hander Reynaldo López struck out ten over five innings post-injury return while key Phillies hitters Schwarber, Turner, and Harper went hitless with seven strikeouts combined as Philadelphia's final seventeen batters were retired consecutively.

“They’re really good still,” Harper conceded about Atlanta’s resilience despite numerous injuries.