Philadelphia Phillies Stay In NL Wild Card Lead After Marlins Loss

The Philadelphia Phillies lost to another team with National League Wild Card aspirations, as the Miami Marlins beat the Phillies, 3-2, on Friday night.

The Phillies (77-63) have a solid cushion in the Wild Card playoffs and remain the top Wild Card seed. They lost no ground on the Chicago Cubs, who also lost Friday.

But the standings behind them bunched up a bit more, with the Marlins — who are just on the outside of the race — and the Arizona Diamondbacks both winning games.

The Cincinnati Reds absorbed a loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, which dented the Reds’ Wild Card hopes just a little bit more.

The Phillies would host a Wild Card series if the playoffs were to start today.

Below is an update on the race, with the current standings, magic numbers to clinch a Wild Card berth and the remaining schedules for the teams that are still in the race.

The NL Wild Card Race as of Sept. 9

Friday’s Results

Arizona 1, Chicago Cubs 0

Miami 3, Philadelphia 2

St. Louis 9, Cincinnati 4

Colorado vs. San Francisco

(Top three teams clinch Wild Card berths)

Philadelphia (77-63): +4.0 Games (Magic Number to clinch: 18)

Chicago Cubs (76-66): +2.0 Games (Magic Number to clinch: 19)

Arizona (74-68): — (Magic Number to clinch: 21)

Miami (73-68): 0.5 Games Back

Cincinnati (73-70): 1.5 Games Back

What’s Left?

Philadelphia (22): Saturday-Sunday: vs. Miami (2); Monday-Wednesday: vs. Atlanta (4); Sept. 15-17: at St. Louis (3); Sept. 18-20: at Atlanta (3); Sept. 21-24: vs. New York Mets (4); Sept. 26-28: vs. Pittsburgh (3); Sept. 29-Oct. 1: at New York Mets (3)

Chicago Cubs (20): Saturday-Sunday: vs. Arizona (2); Monday-Wednesday: at Colorado (3); Sept. 15-17: at Arizona (3); Sept. 19-21: vs. Pittsburgh (3); Sept. 22-24: vs. Colorado (3); Sept. 26-28: at Atlanta (3); Sept. 29-Oct. 1: at Milwaukee (3)

Arizona (20): Saturday-Sunday: at Chicago Cubs (2); Monday-Thursday: at New York Mets (4); Sept. 15-17: vs. Chicago Cubs (3); Sept. 19-20: vs. San Francisco (2); Sept. 22-24: at New York Yankees (3); Sept. 25-27: at Chicago White Sox (3); Sept. 29-Oct. 1: vs. Houston (3)

Cincinnati (19): Saturday-Sunday: vs. St. Louis (2); Tuesday-Thursday: at Detroit (3); Sept. 15-17: at New York Mets (3); Sept. 18-20: vs. Minnesota (3); Sept. 22-24: vs. Pittsburgh (3); Sept. 26-27: at Cleveland (2); Sept. 29-Oct. 1: at St. Louis (3)

Miami (21): Saturday-Sunday: at Philadelphia (2); Monday-Thursday: at Milwaukee (4); Sept. 15-17: vs. Atlanta (3); Sept. 18-20: vs. New York Mets (3); Sept. 22-24: vs. Milwaukee (3); Sept. 26-28: at New York Mets (3); Sept. 29-Oct. 1: at Pittsburgh (3)