The 2021 MLB season is coming to an end, and for the Philadelphia Phillies, a spot in the postseason could be right around the corner. However, is it too late for the Phillies to secure a definite position? Throughout the season, the Phillies had their ups and downs, and once again, we lacked a strong bullpen. Back in April, I predicted that the Phillies would not make it to the postseason and that they would finish the season in either third or fourth place in the National League East Division. Currently, the Phillies are in second place with a standing of 78-74, just barely over the .500 winning percentage, and they only have three series left.

So what has happened so far this season? Well… a lot. First off, as expected, we had a lot of action from Bryce Harper. Harper has 33 home runs and 80 RBIs for the 2021 season, both of which will most likely increase in the next few games. The Phillies have also had their highs and lows against their rival teams and some not-so-good teams. Similar to previous seasons, the Phillies still struggled when playing against the Miami Marlins. The Marlins are currently 64-88 and are arguably the worst team in our division, but the Phillies still find ways to give up their lead and lose the game. This isn’t just a problem when playing against the Marlins though. The Phillies had multiple early-on leads throughout the season but have been unable to maintain them. Although the bullpen isn’t the best, they alone aren’t to blame for blowing the lead. Players outside of the bullpen such as Alec Bohm, Odúbel Herrera, and Andrew Knapp, have made many errors and overthrows that have allowed players on the opposing team to advance on the bases. 

The pandemic was also a major factor in the Phillies’ underwhelming performance this season. While most of the players on the team are vaccinated, some of them have refused to get the shot. Due to this situation, most players have been put on the COVID-19-related injury list at least once this season. With players on the COVID-19 injury list, manager Joe Girardi had to bring in players from the Phillies affiliate team: the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Although it gave a chance for some minor league players to make their MLB debut, it also hurt the Phillies because their main players were unavailable. Apart from the COVID-19-related injury list, the Phillies also experienced a lot of injuries from players. Rhys Hoskins was constantly on and off the 10-day injury list for pain in his left groin, and eventually in August, he was placed on the 60-day injury list. Hoskins underwent surgery for his lower abdomen and left groin on August 31st, but he’s not expected to return to the team until the 2022 season. Another injury that almost caused Phillies fans to worry was outfielder Andrew McCutchen’s pain in his left knee. Many fans were worried that McCutchen wouldn’t be able to play for the rest of the season due to the fact that he had recently recovered from a torn ACL and had just returned to the team during Spring Training; however, he was reinstated from the injury list and began playing soon after.

Although it seems like there’s a never-ending list of reasons why the Phillies weren’t doing too hot this season, there are also several reasons why they were occasionally doing well. Even though August was the month of nonstop roster changes due to injuries, it was also the month that the Phillies had a 7-game win streak, three of those games being a series sweep against our rivals: the New York Mets. In addition, Aaron Nola and Zach Wheeler also both had a great season as starting pitchers. Back in June, Nola tied Tom Seaver’s record of 10 consecutive strikeouts, while also tying his own personal record of achieving 12 strikeouts in one game. Recently, the Phillies also had a series win against the Chicago Cubs, destroying them with a score of 17-3 in the third game of the 3-game series.

Even with the shocking amount of negatives that have occurred this year, I think the games played so far resemble an average Phillies season. Though there were many times where the Phillies seemed to show improvement, they weren’t able to stay consistent while playing certain teams, leading to their numerous losses. The Phillies are currently 3.0 games behind the first-place title of the National League East Division, with 10 games left to be played. In terms of the postseason, the Phillies are currently tied with the Cincinnati Cardinals even though they are 5.0 games behind. If the Phillies are able to hold out these last few games, they just might be able to guarantee themselves a spot in the playoffs, and perhaps first place in the division.