Ridiculous Stretch of Phillies' Early Schedule Proves MLB Truly Screwed Them Over
By Parker White
The Philadelphia Phillies begin play on Friday night against the division-rival Atlanta Braves, who are 1.5 games ahead of them in the NL East. The Phils have started the month of June poorly, as they are 5-6, and it's only going to get tougher when you take a look at their schedule.
Every team has tough parts of the schedule it has to maneuver throughout the year, but Major League Baseball really screwed this Philly team, as they begin their THIRD stretch of 17 games in 17 days before July, which has NEVER happened in their 136-year history.
This evening, the Phillies will begin their third stretch of 17 games in 17 days this season. The Phillies have existed since 1883. They've never played 17 games in 17 days three times before July.
— Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) June 14, 2019
To compound matters, the Phillies begin tonight playing 26 straight games against NL East opponents. This extends through the All-Star break and the next time they play someone that's not in their division is on July 15 at home against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
For Gabe Kapler and his Phillies ball club, one that has now fallen into second place in the NL East after nearly seven weeks on top, it will be nothing but division rivals for the next month of the 2019 MLB schedule.
— Phillies Nation (@PhilliesNation) June 13, 2019
[@MatthewVeasey]https://t.co/MsOcWm8nrz #RingTheBell
They will play the NL East for the next month, and only two of those series will be against the Miami Marlins, who they are 5-2 against this season.
But this isn't all that bad for Philly. They'll have a chance to gain ground on Atlanta and/or distance themselves between the Mets and Nationals in the division. However, with their recent woes, things could get ugly if they don't turn their fortunes around quickly.