Can the Phillies keep rolling? | Sports Daily Newsletter

The All-Star break is over, the Phillies have the best record in baseball, and everything points to a long postseason run.

They’ll have 66 games before another Red October, but as we all know, nothing is guaranteed. Can they keep the momentum going?

They built that MLB-best record against the easiest schedule in baseball, according to one advanced metric, but they’ll have the second-hardest schedule over the rest of the regular season. An 8½-game lead over the Braves in the division and a 6½-game edge over the Dodgers for the top seed in the NL should help the Phillies weather that storm.

The pitching staff must stay healthy, of course, and the defense will need to be as surprisingly good as it has been so far.

So what are the Phillies’ chances to win it all this year? According to one composite odds model, which blends forecasts from multiple sources, those chances are pretty good but slightly behind one other team.

— Jim Swan, @phillysport, sports.daily@inquirer.com.

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We asked for your Philly sports-centric photos and you continue to deliver. Here are our Philly fan photos for this week as part of our Friday lineup.

To keep this feature going, we’ll need you to keep submitting photos with a Philly sports theme. Send your photos here and we’ll see what makes the cut.

Rob Thomson is going to need at least one more high-leverage option in the Phillies’ bullpen once the postseason arrives. Adding another arm by the trade deadline is a necessity, writes David Murphy, who explains why the current batch of Phillies relievers is not deep enough.

The 2025 baseball schedule has been released. The Phillies will open March 27 in Washington.

Next: The Phillies begin a three-game series with the Pirates tonight in Pittsburgh (6:40, NBCSP). Aaron Nola (11-4, 3.38 ERA) will start against a Pirates pitcher to be determined.

Jared McCain of the Sixers has taken his lumps in summer league play, facing tough defense and struggling to shoot with his typical proficiency. The No. 16 pick in last month’s draft is adjusting to the league’s increased speed and athleticism, but he plans to “maintain confidence no matter what.” McCain has shot 26.1% while averaging 14.3 points through three NBA Summer League games in Las Vegas. This comes after he shot 29.4% overall and 18.8% on threes last week in the Salt Lake City Summer League.

Pat Williams, the longtime Sixers GM and the architect of the 1983 champions, has died at age 84.

Jason Kelce’s career as a Pro Bowl center with the Eagles is over, but he remains an All-Star in terms of his celebrity status. In some ways, he seems more popular than ever as he prepares to launch his next career on ESPN. That celebrity status was on full display on the golf course last week at the American Century Championship.

Cavan Sullivan, 14, became the youngest player to play in a game in MLS history on Wednesday night. That should not overshadow how Tai Baribo’s hat trick snapped the Union’s 10-game winless skid, Jonathan Tannenwald writes.

The teen phenom is already drawing a crowd off the field as well, as autograph seekers found him on Sea Isle City’s basketball courts.

Next: The Union will play host to Nashville S.C. on Saturday at Subaru Park (7:30 p.m., Apple TV).

Here’s a place to access your favorite Philadelphia teams’ statistics, schedules, and standings in real time.

We asked you: What can the Phillies do to keep winning and maintain MLB’s best record? Among your responses:

My concern is not so much for maintaining the best record in baseball. Although home-field advantage is great, the Phillies have shown the ability to win in the playoffs without that advantage. My main concern is durability, health, and not running out of gas in the playoffs. Implement frequent days off for the field players. Clearly the extended absences of Realmuto, Turner, Harper and Castellanos had little effect on the team’s ability to win. … While it’s great that the starters are pitching deep into games it’s not worth it to have them exhausted in the playoffs where the pitching rotation tends to be compressed and not all pitchers are used. — Ray G.

With the schedule getting tougher for the second half, Phils must keep our starters healthy by assuring the proper rest. In addition, we must assure that we have 5 starters to make sure they get the proper rest in between games. We also need to replace Rojas in center field hopefully through a good trade or purchase. Harper and Turner respectively must be injury free. I think it was a bad move getting rid of Merrifield. The more playing time he would get would result in more production. — Jerry L.

There are a number of factors for success in baseball. The biggest keys are keeping the players healthy and starting pitching. We have done well for the most part in those areas. Players need to keep practicing, have a winning attitude and stay humble. I believe the Phillies are doing this. — Kathy T.

For me the most important thing for the second half is to stay healthy. Phils have had lots of injuries during the first half. Fortunately guys like Sosa have filled in very well and they have kept winning, but we can’t go through the 2nd half losing key players again. Finding a good right-hand hitting outfielder without giving up the farm would be good, of course. When JT comes back, I would keep Marchan and make Stubbs a coach. Marchan is a better overall catcher and hitter, but of course Stubbs is one of the hearts of the team and needs to be kept here. Braves have won six consecutive NL East titles. It is time to replace them at the top and start the playoffs at home instead of hitting the road as in the past. — Everett S.

What can they do? Same thing we have always reminded our “teams” be they ‘Mates, relatives, friends, or players: “Stay focused,” be it the mission or goal. You gotta have “High hopes” that crooner from Jersey once inspired listeners. Nothing could be worst than a half completed goal. Tends to breed repeated failure. And there’s plenty of that around without focus. — John B.

We compiled today’s newsletter using reporting from David Murphy, Scott Lauber, Neil Paine, Keith Pompey, Gina Mizell, Devin Jackson, Jonathan Tannenwald, Kerith Gabriel, and Gabriela Carroll.

By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

Thank you for reading as another week of Sports Daily comes to a close. Devin will be at the controls on Monday. — Jim