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The Philadelphia Phillies are NL East champions for the primary time in additional than a decade.
They clinched the division on Monday with a 6-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs, marking their return to the highest of the NL East for the primary time since 2011.
Philadelphia Phillies @Phillies
NL EAST CHAMPIONS pic.twitter.com/peQVT1C08I
That final division win got here amid a stretch of 5 NL East titles from 2007 to 2011, highlighted by the Phillies’ 2008 World Collection victory, and adopted by a decade with no postseason look.
Philadelphia shouldn’t be solely again within the postseason, but it surely’s additionally seeking to contend for the third title in franchise historical past.
This is a have a look at the playoff image now that the Phillies have secured their spot atop the division.
Projected American League Playoff Matchups
- First-round bye: No. 1 New York Yankees, No. 2 Cleveland Guardians
- Wild Card Collection: No. 3 Houston Astros vs. No. 6 Detroit Tigers, No. 4 Baltimore Orioles vs. No. 5 Kansas Metropolis Royals
Projected Nationwide League Playoff Matchups
- First-round bye: No. 1 Los Angeles Dodgers, No. 2 Philadelphia Phillies
- Wild Card Collection: No. 3 Milwaukee Brewers vs. No. 6 Arizona Diamondbacks, No. 4 San Diego Padres vs. No. 5 New York Mets
The Phillies have earned themselves a first-round bye and a visit to the NLDS with their dominant common season.
There’s nonetheless extra on the road within the the rest of the common season, although. They might may assure themselves home-field benefit all through your complete postseason if they’re able to beat out the Los Angeles Dodgers for the perfect file in Main League Baseball.
Present Standings
AL East
- New York Yankees (92-64)*
- Baltimore Orioles (86-70, 6 GB)
- Boston Purple Sox (78-78, 14 GB)
- Tampa Bay Rays (78-78, 14 GB)
- Toronto Blue Jays (73-83, 19 GB)
AL Central
- Cleveland Guardians (90-67)*
- Kansas Metropolis Royals (82-74, 7.5 GB)
- Detroit Tigers (82-74, 7.5 GB)
- Minnesota Twins (81-75, 8.5 GB)
- Chicago White Sox (36-120, 53.5 GB)
AL West
- Houston Astros (85-71)
- Seattle Mariners (80-76, 5 GB)
- Texas Rangers (74-82, 11 GB)
- Oakland Athletics (67-89, 18 GB)
- Los Angeles Angels (63-93, 22 GB)
AL Wild Card
- Baltimore Orioles (86-70, +4 Video games)
- Kansas Metropolis Royals (82-74)
- Detroit Tigers (82-74)
- Minnesota Twins (81-75, 1 GB)
- Seattle Mariners (80-76, 2 GB)
- Tampa Bay Rays (78-78, 4 GB)
- Boston Purple Sox (78-78, 4 GB)
NL East
- Philadelphia Phillies (93-64)**
- New York Mets (87-69, 5.5 GB)
- Atlanta Braves (85-71, 7.5 GB)
- Washington Nationals (69-87, 23.5 GB)
- Miami Marlins (57-99, 35.5 GB)
NL Central
- Milwaukee Brewers (89-67)**
- Chicago Cubs (80-77, 9.5 GB)
- St. Louis Cardinals (79-77, 10 GB)
- Cincinnati Reds, (76-81, 13.5 GB)
- Pittsburgh Pirates (73-83, 16 GB)
NL West
- Los Angeles Dodgers (93-63)*
- San Diego Padres (90-66, 3 GB)
- Arizona Diamondbacks (87-69, 6 GB)
- San Francisco Giants (77-79, 16 GB)
- Colorado Rockies (60-96, 33 GB)
NL Wild Card
- San Diego Padres (90-66, +3 Video games)
- New York Mets (87-69)
- Arizona Diamondbacks (87-69)
- Atlanta Braves (85-71, 2 GB)
*Denotes clinched playoff spot
**Denotes clinched division
The Phillies’ final two postseason runs led to heartbreak.
Two years in the past, they made it again to the World Collection for the primary time since 2009, pulling out to 1-0 and 2-1 collection leads over the Houston Astros earlier than dropping in six video games.
The Phillies then got here inside one win of one other journey to the World Collection after gaining a 3-2 lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks within the 2023 NL Championship Collection, solely to lose Video games 6 and seven to the NL West Wild Card staff.
With the intention to make it again to the World Collection this fall, they might must face one other NL East opponent within the NL Division Collection. The Atlanta Braves, whom the Phillies have ousted from each the 2022 and 2023 NLDS, are vying with the New York Mets for the ultimate wild-card spot within the NL.
The Braves would carry Cy Younger favourite Chris Sale to the mound, whereas Francisco Lindor’s bat is placing his identify in NL MVP competition for the Mets.
The Phillies will hope to counter each potential division opponents with the most effective beginning rotations within the MLB.
Zack Wheeler is more likely to get the beginning in Sport 1 of the postseason after posting an NL-best 0.96 WHIP by 31 begins this season. Cristopher Sánchez stands to profit from home-field benefit after rating third within the NL with a 2.05 ERA at residence.
Aaron Nola and Ranger Suárez spherical out, arguably, the strongest rotation within the NL heading into the postseason, though each might want to bounce again earlier than the postseason. The previous has posted his highest ERA of the season in September, whereas the latter has struggled with consistency since getting back from the IL on the finish of August.
The Phillies’ pitching has usually been extra dependable than the staff’s offense, which threatened to derail the hopes of a division title as scoring plateaued in earlier stretches of the season.
After final 12 months’s World Collection hopes fell aside when the Phillies scored a mixed three runs within the remaining two video games of the loss to the Diamondbacks, Philadelphia will want constant offense from batters comparable to Trea Turner, Alec Bohm and Bryce Harper as a way to make a deeper run this postseason.
For now the Phillies’ focus will flip to securing the perfect file within the MLB and home-field benefit all through the postseason.
If they will set up pitching consistency and improve offensive momentum throughout this remaining stretch, the Phillies may enter the postseason as a favourite for a 3rd straight journey to the NLCS.
