 Meanwhile, the teams ahead of them struggled, with the Pittsburgh Pirates losing 6 in a row and the Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers losing 6 of their last 7 games.As a result, the Phillies were just 3 games behind the Cardinals on September 12.However, just as it seemed like the Phillies were going to make an improbable run to the playoffs, disaster stroke in the next series against the Houston Astros.