Tom Verducci SI.com: How the Phillies beat the Rays to win the World Series
On Sept. 10 the 79-67 Phillies were 3 1/2 games out of first place, had the same record as the Houston Astros and were only one-half game better than the St. Louis Cardinals and Toronto Blue Jays, three teams that didn't sniff the playoffs.But the Phillies became yet another team to prove what makes world champions in the era of six divisions and three rounds of playoffs: Staying in contention and then getting hot at the right time.
Philadelphia, including the postseason, finished 24-6 -- the first time any Phillies team in franchise history won 24 of its final 30 games.
The Phillies rode ace Cole Hamels (6-1 in that stretch) and a lockdown bullpen (7-0) for more than half of their wins during that run to the championship.
It was a classic late-season formula, especially when you essentially remove the fifth starter, middle relievers and most of the bench from the playoff equation. Philadelphia played 14 postseason games over 31 days, an entirely different pace from the regular season.
The Phillies had 16 days off to play 14 games in October (accounting for Game 5, which took two days) after having 19 days off to play 162 games in the regular season.
WOW! just ... WOW!
