There is a pennant race going on in South Philadelphia this weekend.
After being swept by the Houston Astros this week, the Phillies are in third place in the National League wild-card standing, 2 1/2 games back of the Astros. The Phillies are also 1 1/2 games behind the Florida Marlins, who come to Citizens Bank Park for three games this weekend.
That might not sound like too big a hill to climb. But the standings were reversed at the beginning of the week, which has many Phillies fans wondering if their team is in the midst of yet another September collapse.
Nonetheless, hope is supposed to spring eternal in baseball. So if you're looking for something to do this weekend, you might just see the Phillies turn things around right before your very eyes.
Even if you don't care much about baseball, Citizens Bank Park is still a great place to watch a game. The two-year-old stadium has all the bells and whistles you would expect from a new arena, and great sightlines from nearly all of the 43,500 seats. Many sections of the upper deck also have great views of the Center City skyline.
Citizens Bank Park also has one of the smallest playing fields in baseball, so if you decide to sit in the outfield there's a pretty good chance a home run ball will come your way.
The best food in the ballpark can be found in Ashburn Alley, a pedestrian concourse that stretches across the outfield and includes a number of local merchants. You can get a Geno's cheesesteak, a Tony Luke's roast pork, or a slice of pizza from Ardmore, Pa.-based Peace A Pizza.
A stand in right field features barbecue cooked by former Phillie Greg "Bull" Luzinski, and a stand in left field features the Schmitter sandwich -- a sort of cheesesteak on a Kaiser roll topped with a slice of salami, fried onions, tomatoes and a special sauce -- that originated at McNally's in Chestnut Hill.
If you still have some money left over at the end of the night and want to buy some Phillies merchandise, you can do so at the two-story team store near the third base side. It sells everything from baseballs to stuffed replicas of the Phillie Phanatic, the team's hall-of-fame mascot.
So if you don't mind some traditional Philly boos with your baseball, a trip to Citizens Bank Park is a good way to spend a warm September night outdoors.
Phillies vs Marlins - To get there: Take SEPTA's Market-Frankford Line or trolleys to 15th Street, then transfer to the southbound Broad Street line. Take it to Pattison Ave., the last stop, and walk three blocks east to the stadium. Starting pitchers:n Friday, 7:05 p.m.: A.J. Burnett (12-9) vs. Cory Lidle (9-10) - Saturday, 7:05 p.m.: Jason Vargas (5-3) vs. Brett Myers (12-7) - Sunday, 1:35 p.m.: Ismael Valdez (2-1) vs. Jon Lieber (13-12)
