Phillies crush Cubs, secure first-round playoff berth originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
This time around, there will be no wild-card series for the Phillies.
Two nights after winning the NL East title, they clinched a top-two berth and a first-round berth in the playoffs with a 9-6 win over the Cubs. They also needed a Brewers loss, and Willy Adames was pulled at second trying to extend a single moments later as Milwaukee lost at Pittsburgh to seal the game.
“I got to see the Pirates’ last out on the big screen and I saw the whole crowd going crazy,” Brandon Marsh said. “That’s what it’s all about. It’s huge for us.”
The Phils jumped on Javier Assad in the first inning with another smooth home run by Trea Turner to left field and a two-run double by Bryson Stott.
Nick Castellanos hit a home run in the third inning and Kody Clemens had a single in the fourth. Castellanos and Stott both had three hits and Castellanos finished the night with a season-high .428 slugging percentage.
Cristopher Sanchez led off the game with three scoreless innings, but a Stott error extended the bottom of the fourth and Nico Hoerner hit a three-run home run to cut the lead to one. Marsh put the game away with a three-run double in the fifth, and the second half of the night became much more comfortable for the Phillies and a sellout crowd of 42,438.
They finished the regular season with a 54-26 record at Citizens Bank Park, having won more than two-thirds of their home games. (There was also a home loss in London.) Their next games at CBP are on October 5-6 for Games 1 and 2 of the NLDS.
“This is the third year we’ve had a really solid core of players. And it’s tough to play here,” Marsh said. “When I was in Anaheim, we came here and got swept and it was tough. I can only imagine what the other guys on the other side went through. There’s no place like this. We love it here and we just have to keep it going.”
The only thing left to play for this weekend in Washington, D.C., is home-field advantage throughout the National League playoffs. The Phillies are 94-65 and the Dodgers are 93-64, with the Phillies holding the tiebreaker.
Ranger Suarez, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola will start the final three games of the regular season against the Nationals. Wheeler and Nola will likely have shortened outings of five innings or less unless the Phillies have a real chance of beating the Dodgers in the final 48 hours. Wheeler and Nola will then have a full week of rest before the start of their first playoff series, while Sanchez will have at least nine days of rest.
Friday’s game will also be important as it will be the last form of the regular season for Suarez, who has struggled to control his last three outings.
Sanchez was one out away from qualifying for the win Wednesday. He finished a breakout season with an 11-9 record and a 3.32 ERA in 181⅔ innings and could garner some votes for the fifth Cy Young spot.
“It’s a really beautiful thing,” Sanchez said. “I never dreamed in my life that I would pitch 182 innings in the major leagues.”
At home, Sanchez finished 7-3 with a 2.21 ERA in 17 starts. The big question now is whether he or Nola will start Game 2 of the NLDS after Wheeler. Sanchez has a tremendous home-and-away record and that will be a factor, although manager Rob Thomson said Wednesday afternoon that the opponent will be a bigger factor.
“This kid had an incredible regular season, he really did,” Thomson said. “He was a huge part of that.”
Sanchez and Nola are both in great shape heading into the playoffs, so this is a good problem to have.
“We’ve got a few more games in Washington to polish some things up and sharpen the knife a little bit,” Marsh said. “We’re all excited. We’ve worked hard for this moment and we’re going to make the most of it. We’ve just got to stay hungry and humble, keep our heads down and keep going.”
