On the strength of a seven-game winning streak, the Philadelphia Phillies have cut the National League East deficit to four games. In what’s been a rollercoaster season, the Phillies are within striking distance of the division.
Following his start against the Cardinals, left-hander Jesus Luzardo spoke about their chances of taking the division at the end of the season.
“We’re getting into September,” Luzardo told NBC Sports Philadelphia. “We want to win the division, we want to get a bye, and we know what we need to do to get there. This is a team full of veterans, and we have a nice mix, we have a lot of guys who have been here and done that.”
The Phillies stumbled hard out of the break, dropping 10 of their first 14 games. Because of that, the club watched the division deficit balloon. But now that they’re playing better, the Atlanta Braves are back in sight.
“They’re a great team. They got a lot of talent, a lot of veteran guys as well. So it’s going to be fun going down the stretch and trying to catch up to them.”
The Phillies have 33 games left to overcome that four-game deficit. The two NL East teams square off seven more times before the season ends. So the club still controls its destiny when it comes to winning the division.
Jesus Luzardo on Phillies’ 2026 Resiliency
At multiple times this season, the National League East division seemed out of sight. But the Phillies have proven multiple times this season they are capable of bouncing back from adversity.
“I feel like this team, we’re never out of the fight,” said Luzardo. “I think we have a lot of fight and a lot of ability to claw back, no matter how deep the hole is. You guys saw that early in the year with how we started.”
Luzardo refers to the club’s 9-19 start, which led to a managerial change. Rob Thomson, who had been the manager since the 2022 season, was let go and replaced by Don Mattingly. Under Mattingly, the Phillies have gone 62-39.
“I’m fully sold that this team can go as far as we want. We just need to play the brand of baseball we know that we can, and that we’ve been playing, and continuing to scratch and claw every bit of the way.”
The Phillies have every reason to believe that. They boast one of the best starting rotations in MLB, a Top 3 closer in Jhoan Duran, and a lineup that’s capable of putting up big run totals. They have the type of talent that can make a huge difference in the postseason. The bigger question will be where the Phillies will start from.
Phillies Postseason Outlook Entering the Season’s Final Month
The Phillies’ postseason chances are looking good with about five weeks left in the season. They have a firm hold on a postseason spot, with FanGraphs giving them a 92.1% chance of qualifying entering play on August 22.
What’s less certain is their chances of winning the division. The Phillies have just a 22.6% chance of overtaking the Braves in the NL East race. The club has enough games to flip the division race, but they’d likely need to take at least five of their final seven games against Atlanta to make a real impact.
The Phillies have shown they’re capable of playing high-level baseball. In the final five weeks of the season, they have a strong chance to rewrite expectations entering the postseason.
Phillies’ Jesus Luzardo Makes Bold NL East Claim Following Cardinals Win