The Phillies are returning home to Citizens Bank Park on Monday as they begin a six-game homestand with three against the Miami Marlins. It is the last time the Phillies and Marlins will meet this season.
The two division rivals enter this final matchup surprisingly close to each other in the standings. The Phillies (67-58) are second in their division, entering Monday tied with the San Diego Padres in the battle for the second National League Wild Card spot.
Meanwhile, the Marlins (64-61) sit just three games back of the Phillies and trail only the Diamondbacks among NL teams on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. Although they traded young catcher Liam Hicks to the Tampa Bay Rays at the August 3 trade deadline, they held on to ace Sandy Alcantara and remain firmly engaged in the Wild Card race. They are 12-7 in their last 19 games and have won six of their last eight.
The Phillies come home fresh off their <a href="https://comicvibe.com/10-best-tv-shows-like-best-medicine/” title=”10 Best TV Shows Like Best Medicine”>best series of the second half. They swept the Minnesota Twins in three games on the road, including one at the Field of Dreams in Iowa. They scored at least seven runs in each of those three contests, including a comeback from down 5-0 on Sunday. It was the Phillies’ first sweep since early June and – after struggling mightily to end July – improved the team’s August record to 10-5.
In addition to possible Wild Card standings implications, this series will decide the season series between the Phillies and Marlins, granting one team tiebreaker privileges in the event that they end the season with matching records. The two teams are 5-5 against each other so far, their most recent series having come in Miami at the end of July, when the Marlins swept the Phillies in three games.
All three games this week will be broadcast locally. Here’s when and where you can watch the series on TV:
- Monday, August 17, at 6:40 p.m. ET: NBC Sports Philadelphia
- Tuesday, August 18, at 6:40 p.m. ET: NBC Sports Philadelphia
- Wednesday, August 19, at 6:05 p.m. ET: NBC Sports Philadelphia
