By winning percentage, the Atlanta Braves have been the best team in baseball with a .679 mark.
That is the result of a 19-9 record as of Wednesday afternoon.
However, there is only one team with 20 wins at the moment: the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Phils beat the Los Angeles Angels, 7-5, on Tuesday night, becoming the first team in the league to reach 20 wins.
The Braves, given the fact they have played fewer games, are still first in the NL East, but the Phillies are just half a game behind and will be in the thick of the race all year if they keep playing like this.
Philadelphia has enjoyed a breakout season from third baseman Alec Bohm, who has 12 doubles, four home runs, 30 RBI, and a 1.036 OPS.
Trea Turner, Brandon Marsh, and of course Bryce Harper all have OPS marks over .800, while Kyle Schwarber is up to eight home runs.
The Phillies’ pitching staff is also doing an amazing job, with a rock-solid 3.44 ERA as a group.
Ranger Suarez has a 1.32 ERA and a 5/40 BB/K ratio in 41 innings, while Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola have been as good as ever.
Philadelphia is a good, deep team with unfinished business in the postseason.
They made the World Series in 2022 and the League Championship Series in 2023, losing close matchups in both instances.
They are on the verge of doing something great: winning their first Fall Classic since 2008.
Are they good enough to keep this up for the entire regular season and the postseason?
It’s a fascinating question, one that we will know the answer to eventually.
