Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto homered. Phillies fans went wild. And pitcher Aaron Nola provided a taste of just how great it would feel for the entire franchise if Philadelphia went all the way.
The Phillies won the National League East for the first time since 2011, clinching the division title with a 6-2 victory over the visiting Chicago Cubs on Monday night.
With a post-season berth already clinched last week, Schwarber and company earned the franchise’s 12th division championship.
Philadelphia ended Atlanta’s run of six consecutive NL East titles and is trying to finish with the major leagues’ best record and home-field advantage throughout the post-season.
The Phillies (93-64) hold the No. 2 spot just behind the Los Angeles Dodgers (93-63) and would earn a first-round bye should the standings hold.
“The biggest things for me, really, are winning the division and getting the bye,” said Phillies manager Rob Thomson. He was born in Sarnia, Ont., but home was just down the highway in Corunna, a small town of about 2,000.
“If we get home field throughout, that’s a bonus. But I won’t put our players in danger to get there.”
The Phillies have two games left against the Chicago Cubs and close the season with a three-game set versus the Nationals in Washington.
The Phillies had rolled tarp pinned above clubhouse locker stalls before the game, a familiar protective sight for the bottle-popping ahead for a team that’s made the playoffs each of the past three seasons under Thomson.
Phillies top 3.2 million in attendance
With playoff appearances now the norm for these Phillies, perhaps the inevitability of it all kept some fans home. After selling out game after game during a sensational season, there were pockets of empty seats at Citizens Bank Park, which topped 3.2 million in attendance.
Thomson once said a rival coach told him a playoff game in Philly was “four hours of hell.”
“I feel like it’s the best atmosphere in sports,” all-star reliever Jeff Hoffman said. “It feels like it’s 50,000 vs. nine. It’s always a good feeling when you step on the field.”
Seeking their third World Series championship following titles in 1980 and 2008, the Phillies overtook Atlanta for the division lead on May 3 and haven’t trailed since.
Philadelphia won five straight NL East titles from 2007-11, then went 10 years without making the playoffs. A wild-card entry each of the past two post-seasons, the Phillies put together consecutive October runs that ended in heartbreak.
They reached the 2022 World Series, losing to Houston in six games, and dropped a seven-game NL Championship Series to Arizona last year after leading the underdog Diamondbacks 2-0 and 3-2.
The path to this division title was a bit messy after the team raced to the best 50-game start in the majors since Seattle in 2001. The Phillies slumped in the summer and returned home this week from a 2-5 trip against Milwaukee and the New York Mets.
Both are teams the Phillies could face in October.
It seemed fitting 31-year-old Nola was on the mound for the clincher. Nola was a first-round draft pick by the Phillies in 2014, debuted the next year and has been with them his entire career. He’s been one of baseball’s most dependable pitchers, a valuable commodity with the modern stress on big league bullpens.
“I think that says a lot about our club. We stayed hungry after the losses in the World Series and the CS last year,” Nola said. “We hope we can keep that going.”
