Phillies' New Closer Will Feel Immense Pressure When MLB Postseason Begins

It was a near-perfect weekend for the Philadelphia Phillies, who swept the Texas Rangers on the road to continue their strong play.

Since the trade deadline, the Phillies have been one of the best teams in baseball and are starting to look like a complete group.

For a good part of the season, it was the starting rotation that was carrying the team.

While the rotation is still the best aspect of the team, they are starting to get some help as well.

The batting order has done much better since the return of Bryce Harper from injury.

The trio of him, Trea Turner, and Kyle Schwarber has proven to be one of the best in the league.

Furthermore, even though the unit has been a weakness for a majority of the season, the bullpen is also now starting to contribute .

Improving this unit before the trade deadline was a must, and they were able to accomplish that in a significant way.

With all three levels clicking, Philadelphia is starting to create some distance between themselves and the New York Mets in the National League East.

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently wrote about how, despite having the closer role locked down, a ton of pressure is on Jhoan Duran to succeed for the Phillies in the playoffs.

On the other hand, that means it's all up to him to become the legitimately trustworthy anchorfor a franchise that has four saves and six blown saves in 17 games over the past two postseasons.

Even though Philadelphia has had a lot of success over the last several years, the main issue that has held them back from winning the World Series has been the bullpen.

Despite numerous attempts to strengthen the unit, the Phillies always seemed to come up short.

Will Duran Be the Answer? This summer, Philadelphia wasnt messing around in terms of making a splash for their bullpen with the acquisition of Duran from the Minnesota Twins.

Due to the Twins having a complete fire sale, Philadelphia was able to acquire the talented closer, all while holding on to their top three prospects.

Even though the Phillies gave up a good amount to get him, it was much-needed for the franchise.

Duran will certainly be facing a lot of pressure this October in some big spots for Philadelphia.

The closer spot has been a cause of anxiety and pain for the Phillies, but the right-hander can change that.

Hopefully, there will be enough around him to help the unit overall succeed.

If Duran can handle the pressure, it could result in Philadelphia finally getting over the hump.

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