Phillies Take Second Shot at Clinching NL East Crown Against Dodgers

The Philadelphia Phillies travel to the west coast to start a series with the Los Angeles Dodgers that has multiple ramifications.

Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola (27) throws a pitch against the Kansas City Royals in the second inning at Citizens Bank Park. | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies are in the playoffs. The New York Mets are desperate to stay in the race. So, the Phillies must wait to clinch the division title.

The Phillies (89-61) nearly ran the table this week but saw their six-game losing streak end on Sunday with a 10-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals. Had the Phillies won, they would have been able to celebrate their second straight National League East Division title at Citizens Bank Park. But Philadelphia was still hoping to celebrate a division title — it just needed help.

Philadelphia Phillies Playoff Push

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There are two ways to trim a magic number to clinch a playoff berth or a division title. The first is to win, something the Phillies had done all week up until Sunday. In fact, Philadelphia was so good — and the Mets were so bad this week — that Philadelphia cut its magic number from 13 to 1 in a six-day span.

When the Phillies lost its game, there was still some hope of a celebration. The Mets were in New York facing the Texas Rangers. The Mets had already lost the series but were in desperate need of a win to snap an eight-game losing streak. The game went 10 innings, and first baseman Pete Alonso rescued New York with a walk-off three-run home run to win the game and keep the Mets, temporarily, in the NL East race.

The win was far more important for the Mets to hold onto the final berth in the NL wild card race. Their win, combined with San Francisco’s loss, gave the Mets a 1.5-game lead for that berth.

The Mets are off on Monday, so the only way Philadelphia can clinch is to win. The series with the Dodgers is important. The Phillies enter the series with a 4.5 game lead on the Dodgers for the second seed in the NL playoffs. This represents Los Angeles’ last chance to make a race of it.

The Phillies are on the verge of making the playoffs for the fourth straight season. Back in 2022, the franchise made the World Series as a wild card team. In 2023, Philadelphia reached the NL Championship Series and last season the Phillies lost in the divisional round.

The Phillies have not won consecutive division titles since earlier this century, when they won five straight NL East crowns from 2007-11. In that span they won the 2008 World Series, went to the World Series again in 2009 and reached the NL Championship Series in 2010.

Philadelphia Phillies Magic Number Watch

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Magic Number to Clinch NL East: 1

Philadelphia Phillies Games Remaining: 12

Philadelphia Phillies Remaining Schedule: Sept. 15-17, at Los Angeles Dodgers; Sept. 19-21, at Arizona; Sept. 23-25 vs. Miami; Sept. 26-28, vs. Minnesota.

NL East Standings (after Sept. 14)

Philadelphia Phillies: 89-61 (lead division)

New York Mets: 77-73 (12.0 games behind)

New York Mets Remaining Schedule (12 games): Sept. 16-18, vs. San Diego; Sept. 19-21, vs. Washington; Sept. 23-25 at Chicago Cubs; Sept. 26-28, at Miami.