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Phillies Cool Off In July, Still Have Firm Control Of N.L. East

PHILADELPHIA, PA - JULY 27: Bryce Harper #3 of the Philadelphia Phillies runs to third base on his way to an inside the park home run in the bottom of the fifth inning against the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park on July 27, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

After a white-hot start to the 2024 season, the Philadelphia Phillies have finally cooled off in July, going 3-9 since the All-Star break. The team still has a comfortable lead in the N.L. East division, but after suffering a three-game sweep to the Yankees, stars in the clubhouse are looking for answers.

“I could say we haven’t been playing good baseball on both sides of the ball,” Phillies slugger Bryce Harper said after a 6-5 loss Wednesday. “Pretty sloppy as a team — we’ve got to turn the page. We’ve got to cowboy up and play the right way.”

Since returning from a minor injury on July 9, Harper has batted .149 with four home runs and 15 strikeouts. His dip in production reflects a Phillies lineup that has collectively gone quiet in recent weeks.

“We’re a damn good team,” Harper continued. “It’s not that hard, it’s baseball. It’s how the game works. We’ve got really good players in here.”

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With a 65-37 record, the Phillies are still comfortably ahead of the Braves and Mets in the division, but the team’s most recent stretch has allowed those two rivals to inch closer. New York has been especially hot lately, making the most of Philadelphia’s drought to get within eight games.

In order to get swept by the Yankees, another group of struggling playoff contenders benefitting from the acquisition of Jazz Chisholm Jr., the Phillies suffered a 14-4 drubbing in the first game before losing two straight games by a single run. Missed opportunities with men on base made the difference in both contests.

With a potent starting rotation and professional lineup, the Phillies are still in an excellent position for the rest of the 2024 season. In fact, if there’s ever a time for the team to slump, it’s probably now.

Philadelphia has built an extremely large cushion within its division, and the team has a considerable amount of postseason experience after consecutive deep runs over the last two seasons. There’s still plenty of time before then to recover. A collapse is never out of the question, but this forgettable month remains a blip for now.