Philadelphia Phillies Keep Rolling Toward NL Wild Card Berth

The Philadelphia Phillies are taking advantage of the first leg of a road trip against a team that is well under .500 as it edges closer to a NL Wild Card berth.

For the second straight night, the Phillies (81-67) defeated the St. Louis Cardinals, this time by the score of 6-1.

That means that for the second straight game the Phillies trimmed its magic number to clinch its Wild Card berth.

The Phillies want that top Wild Card berth so they can host a Wild Card series against the Chicago Cubs, which right now hold the No. 2 Wild Card seed.

Thanks to Chicago’s loss to Arizona, Philadelphia has a 4.5 Game lead on the entire field, and going into Sunday’s game they can sweep the Cardinals and gain more breathing room going into their trip to Atlanta, which has already clinched the NL East.

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. 17

Saturday’s Results

Philadelphia 6, St. Louis 1

Arizona 7, Chicago Cubs 6

Cincinnati 3, New York Mets 2

Miami 11, Atlanta 5

Colorado 5, San Francisco 2 (Game 1)

Colorado 9, San Francisco 5 (Game 2)

(Top three teams clinch Wild Card berths)

Philadelphia (81-67): +4.5 Games (Magic Number to clinch: 10)

Chicago Cubs (78-71): +0.5 Games (Magic Number to clinch: 13)

Cincinnati (78-72): — (Magic Number to clinch: 13)

Arizona (78-72): — (Magic Number to clinch: 13)

Miami (77-72): — 0.5 GB

San Francisco (75-74): — 2.5 GB

What’s Left?

Philadelphia (14): Sunday: at St. Louis (1); 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 (13): Sunday: at Arizona (1); 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 (12): Sunday: vs. Chicago Cubs (1); 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 (12): Sunday: at New York Mets (1); 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 (13): Sunday: vs. Atlanta (1); 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)

San Francisco (13): Sunday: at Colorado (1); Sept. 19-20: at Arizona (2); Sept. 21-24: at Los Angeles Dodgers (4); Sept. 25-27: vs. San Diego (3); Sept. 29-Oct. 1: vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (3)