In their first series following the 2023 Trade Deadline, the Philadelphia Phillies caught an NL East contender. The Phillies took three-of-four games in a key series, propelling them to 1.5 games up on Miami, who is the first team outside the playoff picture.

All four games were very tight, with each contest decided by two runs or fewer throughout. However, the story of the first two games was late comebacks by the Phillies. Miami took an early 2-0 lead on a Jorge Soler home run in the opener, but a double by Johan Rojas got Philadelphia even in the fourth. A Bryson Stott sacrifice fly and Alec Bohm double gave the Phillies the edge late, as they finished off a 4-2 win.

Game two seemed like a near perfect outcome for Miami. Sandy Alcantara was brilliant, going eight shutout frames and holding a 1-0 lead. However, in the ninth, the game unraveled completely, primarily for their Deadline add. David Robertson yielded three runs in the ninth, capped off by a Nick Castellanos two-run homer, propelling the Phillies to a 3-1 win.

The penultimate contest was an unexpected shootout after Philadelphia went up 5-0. Deadline add Josh Bell and Jazz Chisholm Jr. got the Marlins on the board with homers, cutting the lead to 5-2 in the sixth. After the Marlins cut the lead to one in the eighth with two run-producing outs, Jorge Soler evened the game in the ninth with a one-out homer, sending the game to extras.

Brandon Marsh homered in the top of the 10th to give Philadelphia a 7-5 lead, but the Marlins once again had a rally in their bones. Another pair of run-scoring outs evened the game in the bottom half, sending it to 11 innings. Both teams drove in their free runners on singles, tying the game at eights going to the 12th. Tanner Scott struck out the side in the top half, setting up Jesus Sanchez to win it for the Marlins on a walk-off hit, propelling Miami by a score of 9-8.

However, despite Miami’s strong momentum, Michael Lorenzen made an immediate impact for the Phillies on Thursday. After being acquired from the Detroit Tigers, Lorenzen went eight strong in his first outing for Philadelphia, striking out five and yielding only two runs. An early homer by J.T. Realmuto and two run single by Marsh proved to be all they needed, as the Phillies took the final match by a score of 4-2.

With the Phillies’ strong performance, they furthered their standing as a Wild Card contender. The team sits 1.5 games up on the Marlins, while they still remain with in striking distance of the San Francisco Giants, who own the top NL Wild Card spot. However, Miami now sits on the outside of the playoff picture, trailing the Milwaukee Brewers for the final Wild Card by half-a-game.

The Phillies return home for three games against the Royals Friday night, while the Marlins venture to Texas to play the Rangers. With the homestretch of the 2023 season approaching, these games will go a long way to deciding who will be in the postseason this October.