Where Do Philadelphia Phillies Rank Compared To Other Top MLB Contenders?

The Philadelphia Phillies are 5-5 in their last 10 games.

They have a series loss against the St. Louis Cardinals, a four-game series split with the San Francisco Giants and they took two of three against the Miami Marlins over the weekend.

They are playing .500 baseball recently, but they still sit with a 13-9 record.

They are currently second place in the NL East standings, and it looks like they will have to chase the New York Mets all year.

With their recent play, the Phillies come in at No. 5 in the most recent MLB.com power rankings. That is two spots lower than their ranking last week.

Philadelphia opens this week with a three-game series against the first-place Mets. These three contests will mark 16 games in 16 days for the Phillies. Through the first 13, the team is 6-7.

In those 13 games, Bryce Harper is slashing .267/.441/.578 with four home runs, 11 RBI, 14 walks drawn and 11 runs scored. The two-time MVP is heating up and the team needs it.

In the same time span, the whole lineup is slashing .243/.327/.372 with 10 home runs and 58 runs scored. Those numbers are not bad, but it is a reason why they are under .500 since their last off day.

The pitching has been a bigger problem, though.

As a team, they have a 5.04 ERA since April 8. They have allowed more hits than innings pitched and the strikeouts are not coming easily. Along with that, Philadelphia has allowed 14 home runs in the 13 games played.

They have been unable to get good pitching out of their bullpen throughout the season.

Their relievers have the second-highest ERA (5.81), sixth-highest WHIP (1.55) and the sixth-fewest strikeouts (67). They are struggling to keep hitters off the barrel and they have just seven saves in 13 save opportunities.

Jose Alvarado and Matt Strahm have been lights out, but the other six arms are very inconsistent.

One of the biggest problems on the team is Jordan Romano.

He allowed six earned runs in his last outing, which raised his ERA to 15.26. The right-hander had high expectations coming into the season, but he has shown signs of major regression.

The Phillies feel like they are struggling lately, but the team is in good shape.

The hitters will continue to hit the ball and the starting pitchers are very good. If they can figure out their bullpen situation, Philadelphia will be a dangerous team.

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