Injuries put the Philadelphia Phillies in trouble – MLB News
The Philadelphia Phillies were struggling as infielders Chase Utley and Wilson Valdez were not available for the team on Monday, September 13 and the team suffered a 5-1 defeat at the hands of the Houston Astros.
Valdez who had pulled his left hamstring against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday, September 10 had to be given some rest so as to avoid any menacing aggravation to his injury. Although the team won against the Milwaukee Brewers by 3-2, it failed to do
the same against the Houston Astros on Monday.
All the same, Chase Utley had to leave Wednesday’s game against the Atlanta Braves after he was hit in the helmet by a pitch during the sixth inning of the game. That hit has rendered the player unable to play since then.
It was this untoward incident that kept the Utley away from Monday’s game and the team had the ultimate penalty to pay for it. The Houston Astros, who are otherwise an underdog in the ongoing season, took on the Phillies in the most ruthless manner and won
the game with apparent ease.
Although the temporary loss of the two infielders for the Philadelphia Phillies was initially not a big problem, but as the series against the Houston Astros progresses, there are more than manifest signs that it has contributed to the utmost frustration
of the team as a whole. The Phillies seem to be struggling against the Astros in their series.
Entering into this series, the Phillies had remained unbeatable for more than 12 of their games. Having remained on top of the ranking throughout the season, the Phillies are way ahead of any team in the MLB with 94 wins to their credit. Compared to them,
like suggested above, the Astros have hardly remained impressive. However, in the current series, the Astros have dominated the Phillies on the field. It is as if the Astros are trying to prove a point that they are still a very competitive team and can take
on the some of the best teams in MLB.
Having only won 51 games, which are equal to the losses that the Phillies have had, the Houston Astros have found a rare opportunity here to wreck havoc on the top team of the MLB this time. Much of this has got to do with the few losses of the players for
the Phillies. This is something they want to compensate for as early as possible.
With much to desire for the Phillies to keep the team floating at this crucial stage of the season, where there are competitors like the New York Yankees getting closer to the Phillies with their 90 wins. Philadelphia is looking to reset everything before
it is too late for them.
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