Phillies dominate Braves for victory

PHILADELPHIA – No one calculated the odds for the playoffs in 2007, but everyone knew that the Phillies had virtually no chance of winning the National League of the East.
The Mets had a seven-game lead in the standings with 17 games to go, which meant the Phillies needed a miracle. Famous, the Phillies have finished

PHILADELPHIA – No one calculated the odds for the playoffs in 2007, but everyone knew that the Phillies had virtually no chance of winning the National League of the East.

The Mets had a seven-game lead in the standings with 17 games to go, which meant the Phillies needed a miracle. The Phillies finished 13-4 and the Mets 5-12 while the Phillies won their first NL East title since 1993. The 2019 Phillies will need a similar miracle to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since '11, but have kept their hopes alive with the 9-5 win on Thursday night against the Braves at Citizens Bank Park.

• The score of the box

The win kept them two games behind the Cubs and Brewers for the second Wild Card NL and tied with the Mets with 16 games to play.

"Yes, there is a big billboard that tells us everything," catches the Phillies J.T. Realmuto said, asked if he knew that they had to win on Thursday to keep pace in the race. "We obviously watch the other teams we have behind us and the teams we are trying to follow. We knew that they had all won today, so it was a great match for us. We had to go out and get a "W" and we were successful.

Phillies' probabilities in the playoffs went from 2.5% to 3.8% with this win, according to FanGraphs. They won Wednesday because they hit four homers and got a solid pen performance.

Cesar Hernandez Adam Haseley hit a two-run homer in the second inning, Adam Haseley Jean Segura hit a two-run homer in the third and Realmuto hit a two-run circuit in the eighth. The Phillies had a big effort from the editor after Drew Smyly allowed four points in four innings.

The five Phillies relievers gave three hits and one run in five innings to secure the win. They allowed two runs in 16 1/3 in their last three games in the four-game series against the Braves. The Phillies have won two of those games.

This may be the Phillies' only chance at this miraculous comeback: hitting a bunch of circuits and getting decent relief for the rest of the way. There are reasons to think that the offense can lead to some wins, but can the server continue like this?

"Win one win at a time as a group," said Phillies manager Gabe Kapler. "It's good for us, to get together, to decide that we're going to fight until the very last minute, which means every step is perfect."

The Phillies do not play Friday. They will open a two-game series this weekend against the Red Sox before an eleven-game trek through Atlanta (three games), Cleveland (three games) and Washington (five games). They finish the season with three at home against the Marlins.