LOS ANGELES – The Philadelphia Phillies have been around for over 140 years, during which time they have entered eight world events and featured the most indelible roster in baseball history.
But there is at least one measure that has never dominated as much as it is now.
After winning the National League Eastern Conference title on Monday in a tense round-trip game against defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, the Phillies won the National League Eastern Conference championship on the evening of Sept. 15, earlier than ever, and nearly two full two weeks of regular season baseball.
It is the product of the huge slide of the New York Metropolitan Metropolis, but it is also the product of the Phillies surge. They won 11 of 14 games this month and have the best record in the sport since.
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In other words, they may peak at perfect time.
“We’re a really good team,” Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper said after a 6-5 10-inning victory. “I think we're playing really well right now. Just keep moving forward and keep understanding that we have a bigger situation, we think about winning.”
The Phillies' latest win was the third straight season with more than 90 wins, winning the game in the right way.
It started with Kyle Schwarber, who snatched his 53rd home run in left-handed Anthony Banda, who was used as an opener, mostly matching one of the sport's premier dragsters. Ranger Suarez has since made effective pitching, providing six innings of three rounds to continue dominating from the Phillies' three left-handed starters. The rest of the group followed closely behind, constantly fighting backwards.
Harper answered in eighth place, putting the Phillies on top after Mookie Betts tied for seventh with a solo home run. After Andy's ninth home run tied up the game again, the Phillies made a game in the 10th inning, eventually capped by JT Realmuto's hard-earned sacrifice fly. After the Dodgers loaded the base in the second half of the situation, David Robertson somehow got out of trouble and let Miguel Rojas fly out, Max Munchy took the 13th Division title in franchise history.
The Phillies won the NL East title and led 5½ games with the Dodgers to second place in the NL, so it was the first round goodbye.
“This room is full of confidence,” Realmuto said. “We all believe in each other. We think we are heading in a good direction.”
The Phillies have had a major league-best record of 29-14 since early August, and they have shrugged since. Zack Wheeler made the injured roster on August 16 in a late-season blood clot near his shoulder, and since then, the Phillies' three left-handed starters – Suarez, Cristopher Sanchez and Jesus Luzardo – combined with the 2.55 ERA.
Trea Turner and Alec Bohm form the left side of the infield, both landed at IL last Monday, while Phillies won six straight games, including four of the Mets. Outstanding reliefist Jose Alvarado has no longer qualified for the playoffs after testing positive for enhanced performance drugs, suffering from a forearm strain last week, but the bullpen still found a way.
The core of Harper, Schwarber, Turner, Realmuto, Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh have been made, but a more unparalleled group consists of Otto Kemp, Max Kepler, Weston Wilson and Edmundo Sosa. The mid-season trio – Robertson, outfielder Harrison Bader, close-range Jhoan Duran – further supported the roster.
“I think our depth is as good as before,” Realmuto said. I think we have a lot of depth to start without a guy like Wheeler. They're really good, they give us the situation, the back end of the bullpen is as good as it was once a Phillies. The playoffs are really important, and it's a lot of confidence to be able to get one-eighth in the fourth or ninth or in your confidence. ''
The Phillies celebrated at the clubhouse after their second straight NL Eastern Conference championship in Los Angeles on Monday night. This is the earliest division in the history of franchise, two days ahead of the 2011 club held on September 17. MarkJ. Terrill/AP
The Phillies have made it to the playoffs in the last three years, but they are pursuing their first title since 2008. In 2022, they were defeated by the Houston Astros in the World Series. In 2023, they met a hot Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL Championship Series. In 2024, the Mets sent them in four division series.
In some ways, this year feels more important than everyone else. Realmuto, Schwarber and Suarez plan to be free agents in the offseason. The overall core is aging. The outside assessor believes that next month, this month this could be the best opportunity for the group to consolidate its greatness through the championship.
That trip began Sunday afternoon and fell into a plane that faced mechanical problems as it tried to leave Philadelphia. Players found that they had a place in the playoffs due to the loss of the San Francisco Giants to the Dodgers. They were reluctant to celebrate and landed in Los Angeles around 2 a.m. and hoped to revel in greater achievements.
About 20 hours later, it happened. The Phillies' travel party slipped into the memorial t-shirts and ventured into the small visiting clubhouse at Dodger Stadium for that type of celebration of drinking and smoking that was already too familiar. Rob Thomson, in his fourth year as manager, called up his players, holding a homeless champagne bottle in his left hand, praising them for their way of overcoming adversity. Then he turned to Realmuto and asked, “How many have we left, buddy?”
“What the hell are you going to do,” Realmuto yelled and started the carnival.
Phillies hope more.
“Every team we have had in the last few years, we've been amazing,” Harper said. “It's just not happening. We haven't won yet, we have to do that.”