Are The Phillies Better Than Expected?
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Their one loss has more to do with them than it does the Washington Nationals. The Phillies were supposed to be good this season, but this good?
Maybe a few saw this coming, though not many.
Thanks to the additions of Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto and Jean Segura, the Phillies are a marquee team. They're also a brazen bunch.
Watch: Security Guard At Nationals Park Tells Phillies Fans To Quiet Down
A famous mantra once shouted from a player across the street could be adopted by these Phillies when it comes to their detractors: "No one likes us, we don't care."
What matters is that they're beloved here in Philadelphia.
And it's not just because of the choreographed celebrations, and sidestep way they touch home plate.
The Phillies will never be out of a game this season. They trailed, 6-2, to the Nationals in the third inning on Wednesday and no one watching lost hope. Aaron Nola had one of his worst starts, giving up six runs over three innings and saw his ERA blow up to 7.00. But no one watching lost hope.
And the Phillies fulfilled that confidence by leading 8-6 entering the bottom of the eighth.
The Phillies were expected to be good, and their 4-0 start was their best since 1915, over a century ago when the Phillies won their first pennant.
But this team has not only captured the city, but also the nation.
Watch: Sixers Fans Go Nuts As Bryce Harper Rings The Bell Before Thursday's Game
The Phillies are plus-17 in run differential, tied for the second-best in Major League Baseball with 7-1 Seattle (both behind the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have a plus-21 run differential). The Phillies are tied with the Dodgers in runs per game, which is 7.8, and have found themselves as a team you can't take your eyes away from.
There are concerns about the bullpen holding up, which has stirred talk about the Phillies acquiring Craig Kimbrel.
This team will be in every game this season. The Phillies were bound to lose, though it seems those losses may come from the Phillies committing a few errors or closer David Robertson walking the District of Columbia, as he did in the ninth inning of Wednesday's 9-8 walk-off walk setback to the Nationals.
Now, it seems, every Phillies game is must-see TV, because their offense, and the team, is better than expected.