The Phillies got their postseason spot, then their first NL East title in 13 years, and now they have their first-round bye into the NLDS.
In front of a sold-out Citizens Bank Park crowd for the last time in the 2024 regular season, the Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs 9-6 on Wednesday night to take 2 of 3 in the final homestand, which coupled with a Milwaukee Brewers loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, bought them a valuable few extra days of rest before the fabled Red October comes back around again.
All that's left now is one more three-game set in Washington against the Nationals, and one last push in a race with the Dodgers to try and claim the NL's top seed.
But it's been a whirlwind few days for the Fightin' Phils already. Here's a rundown of it all...
The Toast
The regular-season clock was ticking and magic numbers were shrinking.
Red October, at this rate, was a near inevitability, and to an extent, the NL East title, too. But the Phillies still needed to bag a few more games to get there.
Last Friday against the Mets up in Queens, the Phils punched their first ticket.
Cristopher Sánchez was stellar for five innings, then the bullpen took over and shut New York down, all while the offense teed off for 12 runs on 17 hits.
The Phillies won, 12-2, and although they eventually lost 3 of 4 for the series, they clinched their postseason berth at the very least.
But the party wasn't on just yet.
In the visiting clubhouse afterward, the team put a hold on the overalls, blaring music, and flying champagne.
They made a toast instead, knowing there was more for them to chase after.
"This is the first step," manager Rob Thomson told his club. "We can't have a countdown, J.T., because we don't know how many games we'll have. But when we know, I'll ask you.
"But congrats. This is a huge accomplishment. I love you guys, and this is the first step of many more."
The Party
The Phillies came back to Citizens Bank Park on Monday for their last home series of the regular season.
The magic number to clinch the division dropped to one. The first NL East pennant in 13 years was right there for the taking against the Cubs, and in front of the South Philly faithful.
Aaron Nola, the longest-tenured Phillie, took the mound and tossed through 6.0 innings before the ball was given to Matt Strahm in relief with the bases loaded. But by then, the Phils were already up 6-1, J.T. Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos had put a dent in the Cubs, and Nola was walking back to the dugout with a crowd of 42,000-plus on their feet for him.
It was fitting.
Two years ago, way late into a 2022 season when absolutely nothing felt certain yet, Nola was on the bump with a chance to lead the Phillies into the postseason for the first time in 11 years. He gave them 6.2 shutout innings to kickstart what became the October run of a lifetime.
So of course it was him on Monday night, leading the charge on putting another franchise drought of over a decade to bed.
The bullpen held the line again and deadline acquisition Carlos Estévez registered the final out to what's become his signature Dragon Ball celebration as the rest of the team huddled around the mound.
The white 2024 division pennant was out, the team photo was taken, and now it was time for a party in the clubhouse.
Thomson brought owner and CEO John Middleton in to kick the celebration off. He re-stated the phrase that's been his whole M.O. since building up this era of Phillies baseball...
"I want my f---ing trophy back!"
The champagne flew.
But there was still work to do.
The Hangover
The postseason spot was clinched, the NL East title was clinched, but the Phillies still had a chase to close out against the Dodgers and Brewers for a bye straight into the NLDS – and possibly the league's No. 1 seed.
For the physical toll this season has taken on them throughout, they needed the extra few days' worth of rest and could've moved a step closer to it with another win on Tuesday night.
But Tuesday night was the notorious hangover game, and...yeah...
The Final Touches
The dullness didn't linger.
On Wednesday night, for the last game in front of the Citizens Bank Park crowd before the postseason, the first-round bye was on the table. The Phillies needed a win and a Milwaukee loss to clinch it.
Trea Turner opened with a solo shot in the first, and then Bryson Stott quickly followed up with a two-run double after a Bryce Harper walk and a Castellanos two-bagger to immediately make it 3-0.
Castellanos came back to homer in third, Kody Clemens put a ball in the center-field ivy in the fourth, Brandon Marsh cleared the deck with a bases-loaded double in the fifth, and then Realmuto drove in a run on a liner in the seventh to withstand two Chicago home runs from Nico Hoerner for the 9-6 win.
The Phillies did their part, taking the series finale and 2 of 3 from Chicago, while the Pirates held the Brewers to a 2-1 defeat to lock the Wild Card bye in for Philadelphia.
The series in Washington to tune up and possibly claim the top seed from the Dodgers for full home-field advantage is all that's left until the calendar flips.
"I think it's huge to get these guys some rest, and now we can sort of plan out our pitching for the weekend," Thomson said postgame. "Our starters, I mean, they're gonna have to start – [Ranger Suárez], [Zack Wheeler], and Nola – but we can pull them back a little bit."
Then it's on to the real show, which will begin back here in South Philly on Oct. 5 for Game 1 of the NLDS.
"We're all excited," Marsh said from the clubhouse. "We worked our butts off for this moment. We're gonna make the best of it."
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