Bryce Harper is right, this is a big series for the Phillies, not just the Braves. History shows why.

The Phillies should do whatever they can to avoid having to become just the second team of all time to oust the same opponent from the playoffs three years in a row.

by Scott Lauber

Published Aug. 21, 2024, 12:46 p.m. ET

ATLANTA — Based purely on the standings, it’s inarguable that the series here this week — and probably next week’s at Citizens Bank Park, too — has greater implications on the decimated Braves’ playoff chances than the Phillies’.

Right, Bryce Harper?

“It should be a big series for us, too,” Harper said Tuesday night after going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in a 3-1 loss in Atlanta. “I mean, we’ve got a long ways to go; still got a month of baseball left. We should come in here wanting to win games. It doesn’t matter how far [ahead] you are, or anything like that.

“Obviously, you know what happened late in ’07.”

Well, OK, since Harper brought it up ...

If you’re at least 25 years old, enjoy baseball, and live in the Philadelphia or New York metropolitan areas, you know all about 2007. The Mets led the NL East by seven games with 17 to play but skidded to a 5-12 finish. The Phillies closed on a 13-4 roll and won the division on the season’s final day.

It was unforgettable, the antithesis of the previous generation’s memory of the Phillies’ 1964 September collapse and certifiable proof of the famous Yogi-ism that it’s never over until it’s over.

And if you lived through 2007 or 1964, well, you appreciate Harper’s point.

But if we’re doing history lessons, here’s one: In 2021, after losing star Ronald Acuña Jr. to season-ending knee surgery, the Braves patched their outfield with role players, rallied to surpass the Phillies in August, and won the division en route to a World Series title.

Here’s another: Only once has a team ousted the same opponent from the postseason three years in a row.

And the Phillies should do whatever they can to avoid having to join the 1976-78 Yankees’ mastery of the Royals, even though the Braves are greatly diminished with Acuña (knee) and Spencer Strider (elbow) out for the year, Ozzie Albies (wrist) lost until September, and A.J. Minter (hip) and now Austin Riley (hand) sidelined until at least the postseason.

“I have a lot of respect for their club,” manager Rob Thomson said. “It doesn’t matter who’s on the field. It doesn’t matter if it’s spring training, regular season, or a playoff game. They compete. They do a good job with filling holes. So we’ve got to get after it.”

Never mind, then, that the Phillies entered Wednesday with a healthy six-game lead over the Braves. At 73-52, they were tied with the Brewers for the second-best record in the National League. And that was significant, because finishing with the third-best record would mean not receiving a first-round bye.

Instead, the Phillies would host a best-of-three wild-card series. At the moment, the opponent would be ... you guessed it ... the Braves.

The Braves entered Wednesday with a 2½-game lead over the Mets for the final wild-card spot. And while their roster is depleted, president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos has acted decisively again with trades and signings to replace injured stars with capable veterans who were ditched by other teams.

Among them: Whit Merrifield, released by the Phillies on July 12.

(Coincidentally, the Phillies are 12-20 since then.)

“We’re big leaguers,” Merrifield said in an on-field television interview Tuesday night. “We’re all big leaguers in that locker room. We’ve got some really, really good players that are hurt right now. But it’s a chance for guys to play. We know how to play the game.”

Merrifield didn’t play well for the Phillies. Neither did third baseman Gio Urshela with the Tigers, nor outfielder Ramón Laureano with the Guardians. Don’t underestimate the power of getting another chance with Atlanta.

Sure enough, Urshela started at third base Tuesday night in the Braves’ first game without Riley and walked to force in a run. Laureano made two sliding catches in right field in the ninth inning.

Oh, and after visiting with some of his former teammates before the game, Merrifield tripled, doubled, walked, and scored a run.

“He’ll probably get nine hits this series,” Harper said. “Just how baseball kind of works.”

It was funny because it’s true. But it also was a reminder of why the first-round bye is so valuable. It doesn’t guarantee a path to the NLCS (ask the Braves). But it does eliminate the randomness of losing a three-game series to a lower-seeded opponent and getting bounced before the divisional round.

Especially if the Braves, of all teams, find their way into the tournament.

“They may be depleted, but they’ve still got really good pitching and bullpen. They still have good hitters,” Zack Wheeler said. “They’re still a good team. They may not have their regulars in, but they’re still a good team, all around.”

Good enough that the Phillies should be able to match the Braves’ urgency over the next two weeks, if only to assure that they won’t have to see them again.