OAKLAND, Calif. — A few weeks ago, after slogging through seven games in Atlanta and New York and winning only twice, several of the more prominent Phillies players vowed they were better than they looked against their chief division rivals.
Well, duh.
With a club-record payroll approaching $250 million and a 2022 National League pennant flying at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies were bound to start playing better. And they have. They won their sixth game in a row Sunday, ekeing out a 3-2 victory over the Athletics, and are 13-2 in the last two weeks to go from 25-31 on June 1 to 38-34.
