LOS ANGELES – Delayed by mechanical issues with their plane, the Phillies landed in Los Angeles around 2 a.m. Monday morning. They clinched a playoff spot while en route, but they wanted to save the revelry for whenever they clinched the division.
They didn’t have to wait long.
Twenty hours later, Phillies players were downing champagne and absorbing a concoction of Miller Lite and Budweiser through a beer funnel as cigar smoke and the sounds of Kendrick Lamar filled the visiting clubhouse at Dodger Stadium.
They exhibited no adverse effects from the late arrival while answering every punch from the reigning champions in a back-and-forth extra-inning victory that made them the National League East champions for the second straight year, a 90-win team for the third straight year and the first team to clinch their division this season.
“You’ve got to enjoy this,” said Kyle Schwarber, who started the scoring in Monday’s 6-5 win with his National League-leading 53rd home run of the year. “This doesn’t happen all the time.”
Phillies fans know.
In 2022, the Phillies finished third in the NL East before making a dazzling run to the World Series. A year later, as the runner-up in the division, they made it to the NLCS before falling short of their goal. Last year, they captured the division for the first time in 12 years, only to win just one game in the NLDS.
This year, in what could be the last hurrah with the nucleus of standouts who’ve helped them reach the postseason four straight seasons, the urgency seemed to kick up a notch. Sept. 15 is the earliest in a season they’ve claimed a division title in franchise history — two days sooner than the 2011 club.
“We’re a really good team,” said Bryce Harper, who launched a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning of the division-clinching win. “I think we’re playing really good baseball right now, and we’ve just got to keep going and keep understanding we’ve got a bigger picture.”
With Schwarber and the battery of Monday’s victory — starter Ranger Suarez and catcher J.T. Realmuto — among the players who will soon be among the most coveted free-agents on the market, there is added pressure to make that picture come to fruition in 2025.
But it also makes each of these moments worth celebrating, which they did to the fullest Monday night.
“Before ’22, J.T. played eight years or nine years and never made it [to the playoffs],” said Bryson Stott. “They just tell me, ‘Don’t take it for granted because you don’t know what’s out there.’ With this group, we’ve been together kind of a long time now. It gets better each time.”
While their core has plenty of postseason experience, a new cast of contributors provides hope for a different October outcome.
The Phillies made two of MLB’s most consequential midseason acquisitions, filling their need at closer with Jhoan Duran and bolstering their outfield with Harrison Bader. They’re 29-14 since the deadline. Both players appear rejuvenated after leaving Minnesota. Duran has a 1.62 ERA and is 14-for-16 in save opportunities in Philadelphia, while Bader is slashing .338/.399/.519 with his new club; his .918 OPS is the second-highest mark on the team behind Schwarber.
“I think baseball’s a universal language,” Bader said. “A winning mentality, the passion for it, the want to win and move on and go to the World Series, win a World Series, it’s all a universal language. Regardless of where you come from, your culture, what team you get traded from, the second you step between those white lines, if you’re with a group that also speaks that same language, a lot of good can happen.”
Harrison Bader was a key trade deadline acquistion for the Philies. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Bader’s finding that harmony in Philadelphia. As recently as Aug. 3, the Phillies were just a half-game up on the Mets. Since then, sparked by their deadline additions, they have the best record in baseball.
They’ve weathered the loss of ace Zack Wheeler, going 20-9 since his last start. On Sept. 7, they lost Trea Turner and Alec Bohm to injury — and have gone 7-1 since. Monday’s victory against the Dodgers was a showcase of both their veteran superstar talent and the reinforcements who’ve helped them soar.
Schwarber and Harper countered the Dodgers’ left-handed relievers with lasers into the right-field pavilion, while a ground-rule double from rookie Otto Kemp set the scene for the Phillies’ late-inning fusillade, which included a game-changing two-run blast from Weston Wilson, who has seen more playing time at second base with Stott bumping over to shortstop of late.
After Duran allowed his first home run since July 22 to tie the game in the ninth, reliever David Robertson — who was acquired as a free agent on July 21 and made his first appearance with the Phillies a month ago — closed out the win.
“I know we’re celebrating tonight, but it’s almost like a celebration every night we have a win,” Robertson said. “This is a great group of guys. The group [Dave] Dombrowski’s put together is unbelievable — the trade deadline pickups, the core group that’s been here for awhile. I hope it stays together. This is a fun place to play, and this is where I want to be.”
Despite playing shorthanded, the Phillies offense has the highest OPS in MLB in September. Soon, that group should be closer to whole. Bohm could be back as soon as this weekend, while the Phillies are hopeful Turner will return from his hamstring strain before the end of the regular season.
Until then, they continue finding ways to win. They’re 13-3 in the 16 games started by Suárez, Christopher Sanchez and Jesus Luzardo — their new top pitching trio — since Wheeler went down. Monday’s victory was especially important, as it separated them further from the team that’s chasing them for a first-round bye.
The Phillies are now six wins ahead of the Dodgers for the No. 2 seed in the National League. They’re 3-1 against the reigning champs this season and 43-32 against clubs with a .500 record or better as they seek their first World Series title since 2008.
“I certainly found a clubhouse that speaks the same language I do,” Bader said.
Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on X at @RowanKavner.
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