PHILLY SPORTS CORNER- PHILLIES, EAGLES PICK

It's still gonna take a miracle but the Phillies have beaten Atlanta two straight, with Aaron Nola pitching the finale this afternoon. They have picked up two games in the wild card race, now 3 games behind Milwaukee and Chicago for the second wild card in the National League. Plus they only trail Washington by 4 1/2 games for the top spot. They played 5 games in Washington next week.

The Phils remain on the road, with 8 more games in Cleveland and Washington, after their last game with the Braves today. They have already won the season series against the Braves, yet are in danger of losing the season series with lowly Miami.

The problem Philadelphia has is needing to climb over so many teams. They are also tied with the Mets. All three teams ahead of them in the standing lost yesterday, but that won't always happen. Thus, making the playoffs is still viewed as a longshot.

It would be nice to see progress, to see the Phillies make the post-seson for a change. But that would almost assuredly mean that Manager Gabe Kapler would return in 2020, as well as the General Manager and Team President. The club can cite injuries being a big part of the year, yet still the team ends with a winning record. All true. But the goal this season was making the playoffs and contending for a Wolrd Series. Does finishing with a better record than last year justify Owner John Middleton bringing back the entire staff? He ca't forget the summer, when fans were disppointed, especially after the previous winters' gains of Harper, Realmuto and Segura.

Bryce Harper has done his part. He may not be having a monster, M.V.P. season but 32 homers and 100 RBIs is nothing to sneeze at. Same with J.T. Realmuto. He's having the best year of his career. He has 25 homers now, and should end up with 80-plus RBIs and a batting average hovering around .280.

GM Matt Klentek's mistake was overestimating his young starting pitchers and not getting more pitching at the July trade deadline.

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The Eagles have an almost must-win game this Sunday at home vs the Lions. Win and they keep pace with Dallas, who should go 3-0 this weekend when they play the woeful Dolphins in Texas.Lose and the Birds are 1-2 and in real danger of dropping to 1-3 after they visit Green Bay next Thursday night.

Philly is a better team than Detroit on paper, and playing at the Linc, should win. They are favored by 6 1/2 points. But the Eagles are banged up. DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffrey, the Eagles' top two receivers, will not play.

Coach Doug Pederson needs to control the ball. Special Teams is an advantage in favor of the birds. As usual, the game will come down to turnovers and penalties.

Detriot has played both of its games indoors. Playing at the humid Linc should also be an advantage for the Eagles.

Knowing they need this game very badly, despite Detroit QB Matthew Strafford, I like the Eagles to pull out a win. They may not be as explosive without jackson and Jeffrey as they were in the second half of the Redskin game, but Carson Wentz should give the birds' defense enough to work with,

Make it Eagles 20  Lions 13.