Phils open huge series in home-field advantage race with win

MILWAUKEE -- Rob Thomson has routinely used one word to describe his ballclub: Resilient.

What the Phillies pulled off on Monday afternoon at American Family Field may be the best proof yet.

Arriving in Milwaukee in the early morning hours following a tough loss against the rival Braves on Sunday night, the Phillies quickly found themselves in a four-run hole against the Brewers after two innings. Philadelphia chipped away throughout the game and eventually took a two-run lead in the top of the eighth, only to let it slip away in the bottom half.

Undeterred, the Phillies staged yet another rally in the top of the ninth for a 10-8 victory in a wild back-and-forth series opener.

And they did it all against the team with the best record in the Majors.

“We just kept battling back, it was back and forth,” Thomson said. “It was almost like a playoff-feel to it.”

The win pulled Philadelphia (80-58) to within 4 1/2 games of Milwaukee (85-54) for the top record in the NL -- and kept the Phillies' NL East lead at six games over the Mets (74-64).

“Huge,” said Brandon Marsh, whose fourth hit of the game -- a go-ahead RBI single in the ninth -- proved to be the difference. “Today was a big test for us, just getting in a little late, playing a really good team over there. … It was a huge game for us, you know, coming in here and taking one in this atmosphere in this ballpark.

“We've just got to carry that into Wednesday.”

The Phillies will look to continue cutting into the Brewers' lead for the top seed over the final two games of this series, though the most interesting race down the stretch might just be for the second bye in the NL.

As it stands, the Phillies are 1 1/2 games ahead of the NL West-leading Dodgers (78-59) for that second bye. The Padres (76-62) are also in the mix, currently 2 1/2 games behind the Dodgers.

“That's our goal,” Thomson said. “Who knows what's going to happen, but that's our goal to have the best record in baseball.”

Earning that bye will take a lot more … resilience.

With less than four weeks to play, let's take a closer look at how the Phillies' remaining schedule stacks up with those two NL West contenders:

Phillies' remaining games

Home/away: 13/11
vs. teams above .500: 12
vs. teams .500 or worse: 12

The Phillies have the most difficult remaining schedule of any NL team contending for a bye.

Along with the two games remaining in this series against the first-place Brewers, the Phils also have a 10-game stretch from Sept. 8-17 against the Mets (four games), Royals (three) and Dodgers (three) -- each of whom has a winning record.

The first seven of those games against the Mets and Royals will be played at Citizens Bank Park. However, that matchup against the Dodgers -- perhaps the most important series in that race for the bye -- will take place in Los Angeles.

The good news is if the Phils can navigate that 10-game stretch well enough to keep themselves in a good spot, the schedule softens up afterward. They finish out the season with nine straight games against teams with a losing record, playing three apiece vs. the D-backs, Marlins and Twins.

Dodgers' remaining games

Home/away: 10/15
vs. teams above .500: 6
vs. teams .500 or worse: 19

On the one hand, the Dodgers will play a more road-heavy schedule down the stretch. On the other, their opponents -- on paper -- aren't as daunting as the Phillies’.

Los Angeles has only two remaining series against teams with a winning record. One is the aforementioned showdown with the Phillies at Dodger Stadium from Sept. 15-17. The other is against the Mariners in the final series of the season -- and it remains to be seen what, if anything, Seattle will still be playing for that weekend.

As for the road aspect, the Dodgers will knock out a big chunk of those games this week against a pair of last-place teams. They have a six-game road trip starting Tuesday that features three games each against the Pirates and Orioles.

Padres' remaining games

Home/away: 16/9
vs. teams above .500: 9
vs. teams .500 or worse: 16

No team in the Majors has an easier remaining schedule than the Padres, according to FanGraphs.

Starting with Monday night's game against the Orioles, more than half of San Diego's remaining games (13 of 25) are against last-place teams. Perhaps most notable is the fact that the Padres still play seven more games against the Rockies (39-99).

They also have a three-game series from Sept. 19-21 against a White Sox team that is on pace to lose more than 100 games for a third straight season.