On June 6, the day the Braves agreed to terms with free-agent left-hander Dallas Keuchel, the Phillies were in first place in the NL East, leading Atlanta by 1 1/2 games.



At the time, the Braves ranked 11th in the NL with a 4.38 rotation ERA. The Phillies, sitting ninth with a 4.32 ERA, were only marginally better. But the Phils did not see their rotation – the same rotation that collapsed during the team’s 16-33 finish last season – as a problem. They had just lost outfielder Andrew McCutchen to a season-ending torn ACL in his left knee, and fortunately had acquired outfielder Jay Bruce only the day before.



As the Phillies and Braves begin a four-game series on Monday night at Citizens Bank Park, the mistaken bet the Phils placed on their rotation is one of several reasons the teams took divergent paths over the rest of the season – paths that seem destined to result in the Braves winning their second straight division title, and the Phils...