Philadelphia Phillies 'Biggest Red Flag' Comes as Major Surprise

The Philadelphia Phillies need to figure it out on this side of the baseball if they want to win a World Series.

Aug 15, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler (45) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park. / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

The Philadelphia Phillies have looked like the best team in baseball for parts of the season and like a very average team for the other parts. They recently took three of four against the Washington Nationals and have now won four of their past five games. They'll take on the Atlanta Braves in a three-game set starting Tuesday night.

Seven games ahead of the Braves in the National League East, the Phillies have an excellent opportunity to put the division away. If they can win those three games in Atlanta, they should be in the driver's seat to win the division. Not that they aren't already, but things have gotten much closer than they appeared to be at one point.

It's tough to figure out why Philadelphia has struggled throughout the past two months due to their talent. The pitching staff hasn't been great, the lineup, which is usually one of the best in baseball, could be better, and their bullpen hasn't been as good as it needs to be.

However, the starting pitching struggles are a bit strange for multiple reasons. Most importantly, they have one of the top rotations in baseball.

Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report believes their struggles as a unit are their "biggest red flag" and could come back to hurt them.

"The Phillies are still one of the leading World Series contenders in MLB, but there's good reason to believe the recent drop in their odds is the real deal.

"A pitching staff that was so rock-solid in the first half has thus far been a liability in the second, posting a 4.83 ERA that ranks among the league's worst. They badly need Cristopher Sánchez to get it together and for Ranger Suárez to make a strong return."

They've dealt with injuries, but at the end of the day, it'll all come down to what Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola do on the bump. If both of them pitch like the ace-caliber arms they are, the Phillies can almost guarantee themselves two wins in a playoff series. While nothing is ever guaranteed, they'll have the upper hand in those games.

They'll also return Ranger Suarez at some point, which is a massive addition. The left-hander was throwing like one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball before he went down, posting a 2.87 ERA and striking out 116 hitters in 119 1/3 innings pitched.