With their 6-5 victory Monday night over the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Philadelphia Phillies have clinched their second straight NL East division title.
With two full weeks of baseball still on the docket, September 15th marks the earliest that the Phillies have ever secured a division crown in franchise history. Winners of 11 out of 14 games this month, the team sports the best record in baseball since the calendar flipped over to August.
“We’re a really good team,” Bryce Harper told reporters. “I think we’re playing really good baseball right now. Just got to keep going, and keep understanding we have a bigger picture and we have things on our mind that we want to win.”
That sentiment was echoed by catcher J.T. Realmuto who said “I think our depth is as good as it’s been,” Realmuto said. “And as much as it’s tough to lose a guy like Wheeler, we have so much starting-pitching depth. They’re really good, they give us innings, and the back end of our bullpen is, in my opinion, as good as it’s ever been with the Phillies. That really matters in the postseason, being able to get those outs in the eighth or ninth inning and have confidence in your guys. That’s a huge deal.”
It’s been 17 years since the franchise’s last World Series title, though they’ve been on the doorstep each of the last 3 seasons. Entering Tuesday’s slate of games, the Phillies have the second shortest odds at most sports books to win it all this fall coming in just behind the Dodgers at +550.
While their postseason spot is secure, there’s still plenty to play for down the line for the NL East champions. With 11 games left in the regular season, Philadelphia finds themselves in the drivers seat for a first round bye, and are still very much in play for the top overall seed.
While Milwaukee controls their own fate, Philadelphia’s magic number is currently 7 to clinch a first round bye (though they can see this number shrink with some timely losses by certain NL competitors). That makes their series vs. LA such a pivotal one, as the Dodgers and Cubs are the two teams closest to the Phillies in the race for the 2nd available bye.
A series win vs. Los Angeles would secure a tie breaker for the team should the two clubs finish with identical records at seasons end. After a gruelling regular season, the finish line is officially in sight for each MLB club with the Wild-Card series slated to kick off on Tuesday September 30th, and the NL Divisional Series scheduled for Saturday, October 4th.
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