Of the six teams in the National League that made the postseason, the Philadelphia Phillies had the worst record at 87-75.
They lost their last two and six of their last ten, so they aren’t entering the postseason in top form.
In fact, after seemingly locking up their ticket to the playoffs in July and August, their September was mediocre and they almost lost that spot to the Milwaukee Brewers.
In the end, the Phillies were able to end an 11-year playoff drought and everybody is happy.
Philadelphia, however, is getting little love from analysts and experts in their series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
🚨 Postseason Power Rankings are here! 🚨
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— MLB (@MLB) October 6, 2022
The Tampa Bay Rays, the sixth and last seed in the junior circuit, had a worse record than the Phillies at 86-76: yet they are 11th in the playoffs power rankings and the Phillies are last.
The Cardinals Are Seen As The Favorites To Advance
This has a lot to do with the fact that the Rays are perceived to have a better chance at beating the Cleveland Guardians than the Phillies to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals.
Both the Rays and Phillies will play the Wild Card Series on the road, but the Cardinals are seen as a much better than than Philadelphia.
The Rays – Guardians matchup seems, at least on paper, much closer.
Of course, the Phillies are good enough to take down the NL Central champs, and baseball is full of surprises: that’s why games need to be played before jumping to conclusions.
The Cardinals won 93 games, though, and have a strong core with Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Albert Pujols, Adam Wainwright, Jose Quintana, Jordan Montgomery, Jordan Hicks, Ryan Helsley, and others.
We are about to see what the Phillies are made of.
NEXT: The Phillies Are Hoping For Revenge On An Anniversary