For the Phillies, sitting atop the NL East is the new goal after surviving a 42-game stretch against postseason hopefuls, while general manager Matt Klentak explores every avenue within reason to improve his divisional contender.

Plus factors:

While the Philadelphia Phillies complete their last four contests before the All-Star break, the front office is planning for the 67 games in the second half. They are crunching numbers, evaluating talent, and selecting the best ideas from numerous meetings.

IN OTHER WORDS: “Never think of revising as fixing something that is wrong. That starts you off in a negative frame of mind. Rather think of it as an opportunity to improve something you already love.” – Marion Dane Bauer

After July 1, the end of the first half had 13 contests remaining; the Phils are 6-3 so far. But if they win the away game and series, they will add a 3-1 mark to finish 9-4 before their brief vacation: The Baltimore Orioles for one game and the Miami Marlins for three.

After the break, the busiest 12 days of trade activity will dictate the headlines, and some fans will expect Klentak to plug every hole. However, the critical decision-making will center on player appraisals during that 42-game stretch against wild-card and divisional opponents. Who did what?

While GMs will make some deals after July 31, scoreboard watching will begin in earnest even for those who’ve been doing it secretly since June 1. Guilty! Yes, the roller coaster is already going up and down, but it will accelerate higher or snowball downward after the deadline.

Zach Eflin had the only win in three of the five series he was victorious, but Nick Pivetta had four poor outings out of seven against National League contenders. By contrast, Vince Velasquez had only one clunker out of six performances.

Besides Seranthony Dominguez, Edubray Ramos and Victor Arano were the pen’s bright spots against the toughest competition. Basically, the yardstick for overall success is 80 percent. Ramos had only two poor appearances out of 13 for 84.6 percent, and Arano had four rough outings out of 14 for 71.4 percent.

In sabermetrics, one way to assess player performance is to compensate for the differences of ballpark dimensions But although run differential doesn’t take blowouts into account, those contests balloon a pitcher’s ERA because hitters can relax. Therefore, lopsided scores.