Phillies Blow Chance to Gain Ground on Brewers for Top NL Playoff Seed

The Philadelphia Phillies’ loss to the Miami Marlins may have been their last chance to make a legitimate run at the No. 1 seed in the National League.

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Cristopher Sánchez (61) in the dugout after pitching the seventh inning against the Miami Marlins at Citizens Bank Park. | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The odds weren’t realistic for the Philadelphia Phillies. But it doesn’t mean that losing to the Miami Marlins on Tuesday didn’t hurt.

The Phillies (92-65) fell to the Miami Marlins, 6-5, in 11 innings on Tuesday night. The game was delayed by rain in the ninth inning and Miami was able to pull it out in the 11th inning, holding Philly without a run in a bid to come back.

The loss was brutal when considering that Philadelphia missed a huge opportunity — perhaps its last — to track down the Milwaukee Brewers for the top seed in the National League playoffs.

Phillies Seeding Chase

h-O-T-T-O-g-o pic.twitter.com/HxuCN2YS89

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 23, 2025

Philadelphia entered Tuesday’s action 2.5 games behind the Brewers for the top seed. Milwaukee had a magic number of four to claim the berth, made up of Brewers wins and Phillies losses.

As it turned out, Milwaukee lost to the San Diego Padres on Tuesday. The Padres won their fourth straight game in pursuit of the top NL wild card berth, currently held by the Chicago Cubs, which comes with a home playoff series.

For Philadelphia, a win on Tuesday, combined with that Milwaukee loss, would have cut the Brewers’ lead for the top seed to 1.5 games and kept the Brewers’ magic number at four. It would have been a perfect scenario for the Phillies to start a late push to that top seed.

Instead? Philly lost. Milwaukee lost. The Phillies remained 2.5 games behind with five games to play. Milwaukee’s magic number dropped to three, due to Philly’s loss, with four games to play. That may put an end to Philly’s fanciful dreams of having home-field advantage in the NL playoffs and, perhaps, the World Series, if it gets that far.

As for the No. 2 seed, the Phillies have nearly clinched it. The Los Angeles Dodgers, who lead the NL West, lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Dodgers (88-69) are four games behind the Phillies for that seed, with Philadelphia’s magic number now at two, a combination of Phillies wins and Dodgers losses. Philadelphia does have the tiebreaker over the Dodgers in the event of a tie.

Phillies Playoff Update

Bohmer brings one in! pic.twitter.com/Mf9G042KvO

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 24, 2025

Milwaukee Brewers: 95-63 (lead NL)

Philadelphia Phillies: 92-65 (2.5 games behind)

Los Angeles Dodgers: 88-69 (6.5 games behind)

Philadelphia Phillies Games Remaining: 5

Philadelphia Phillies Remaining Schedule: Sept. 24-25 vs. Miami; Sept. 26-28, vs. Minnesota.

Milwaukee Brewers Remaining Schedule (4 games): Sept. 24 at San Diego; Sept. 26-28, vs. Cincinnati.