The Philadelphia Phillies slipped in the MLB Power Rankings last week

The Philadelphia Phillies are still trying to win the National League East as it wasn't their best week in baseball.

Heading into the week, the Phillies had a golden opportunity to win their division and turn their focus to the best record in baseball. However, Philadelphia lost two of three games against the Milwaukee Brewers and then three of four games against the New York Mets.

With both teams being playoff contenders, it was a tough week for the Phillies schedule-wise, but going 2-5 in the penultimate week of the year wasn't ideal. Now Philadelphia needs just one win to clinch the National League East, but the Mets have made them sweat a bit down the stretch.

Bleacher Report's Zachary D. Rymer recently released his MLB Power Rankings ahead of the final week of the season. Last week the Phillies were first. However, they slipped to second place this week behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“The Phillies haven't had a great week and are just 7-8 overall in their last 15 games. They have questions in their rotation with Ranger Suárez struggling and Taijuan Walker being a liability every time he starts. Still, these are minor issues, and the fact remains that the Phillies have been doing well for a long time. Their lead in the NL East has not been less than 5.0 games since May 18.”

With the playoffs looming, having a week as bad as Philadelphia's is not ideal at this point in the season. The momentum heading into the postseason is tremendous, and the bad week robbed the Phillies of that momentum.

In addition to the poor week, there must be some concerns about Ranger Suarez's performance recently. In the playoffs, Suarez will be asked to start games after Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and Christopher Sanchez. With Taijuan Walker not an option due to his struggles, Philadelphia could suddenly have concerns about its starting rotation.

Next week, the Phillies will look to close out the National League East by starting the week against the Chicago Cubs. After this three-game set at home, they will play the Washington Nationals to close out the season.

As they continue to compete with the Dodgers for the best record, it will be interesting to see how aggressive Philadelphia wants to be with their team in the coming week.