Philadelphia Phillies Start New Week in NL Wild Card Lead

The Philadelphia Phillies enter a new week with a solid lead as they hope to clinch the top National League Wild Card berth.

That comes in spite of their loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday afternoon.

The Phillies (81-68) have been chipping away at the number this weekend, as the beat the Cardinals on Friday and Saturday.

Philadelphia still has a 3.5-game lead over the field for the first Wild Card berth, which comes with a home series. But the Phillies have to clinch the playoff berth first.

Right now, the Atlanta Braves — whom the Phillies will play starting on Monday — and the Los Angeles Dodgers have clinched playoff berths.

So, while the considerable field behind Philly continues to duke it out, the Phillies just need to keep winning to keeping rolling toward October.

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. 18

Sunday’s Results

St. Louis 6, Philadelphia 5

Arizona 6, Chicago Cubs 2

New York Mets 8, Cincinnati 4

Miami 16, Atlanta 2

San Francisco 11, Colorado 10

(Top three teams clinch Wild Card berths)

Philadelphia (81-68): +3.5 Games (Magic Number to clinch: 10)

Arizona (79-72): — +0.5 Games (Magic Number to clinch: 12)

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

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

Cincinnati (78-73): — 0.5 GB

San Francisco (76-74): — 2.0 GB

What’s Left?

Philadelphia (13): Monday-Wednesday: at Atlanta (3); Thursday-Sunday: vs. New York Mets (4); Sept. 26-28: vs. Pittsburgh (3); Sept. 29-Oct. 1: at New York Mets (3)

Chicago Cubs (12): Tuesday-Thursday: vs. Pittsburgh (3); Friday-Sunday: vs. Colorado (3); Sept. 26-28: at Atlanta (3); Sept. 29-Oct. 1: at Milwaukee (3)

Arizona (11): Tuesday-Wednesday: vs. San Francisco (2); Friday-Sunday: at New York Yankees (3); Sept. 25-27: at Chicago White Sox (3); Sept. 29-Oct. 1: vs. Houston (3)

Cincinnati (11): Monday-Wednedsay: vs. Minnesota (3); Friday-Sunday: vs. Pittsburgh (3); Sept. 26-27: at Cleveland (2); Sept. 29-Oct. 1: at St. Louis (3)

Miami (12): Monday-Wednesday: vs. New York Mets (3); Friday-Sunday: vs. Milwaukee (3); Sept. 26-28: at New York Mets (3); Sept. 29-Oct. 1: at Pittsburgh (3)

San Francisco (12): Tuesday-Wednesday: at Arizona (2); Thursday-Sunday: at Los Angeles Dodgers (4); Sept. 25-27: vs. San Diego (3); Sept. 29-Oct. 1: vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (3)