The Phillies open the unofficial second half of the season against an opponent with whom they share some recent history.
San Diego Padres
Record: 43-47, Fourth place in National League West (8.5 games back)
The manager
Bob Melvin is in his twentieth year as a major league manager. He’s the baseball equivalent of a nice sweatshirt: It’s comfortable and dependable, but you’re probably not going to win the World Series in it.
2022 was the first time a Melvin-led team even made it to the league championship series. He might have made it even further if he didn’t completely botch the endgame in game five of the 2022 NLCS.