Philly Leader

The Philadelphia Phillies clinched the NL East on Monday and secured a first-round bye in the postseason on Wednesday. As they head into the weekend series against the Washington Nationals, their primary goal is to secure the No. 1 seed in the National League.

Following a 9-1 loss to the Nationals on Friday night and an 11-4 victory by the Dodgers over the Rockies, Los Angeles now holds a two-game lead over Philadelphia with two games remaining. The Phillies need to win their final two games while hoping for two losses from the Dodgers to tie and gain home-field advantage due to owning the season tiebreaker.

If they advance to the World Series, Philadelphia currently holds home-field advantage over every American League team except for possibly the Yankees, who are one game behind them.

Phillies pitcher Ranger Suárez had a rough outing on Friday, allowing six runs in just two innings. His performance has raised concerns about which version of Suárez will appear in the postseason: his strong first-half form or his recent struggles. Suárez acknowledged his disappointing performance but aims to focus on having a strong mindset going into playoffs.

“Obviously, I wanted to have at least a decent start before the playoffs,” Suárez said through an interpreter. “It didn’t happen. Let’s turn the page and just have a strong mind going into the playoffs now.”

Manager Rob Thomson expressed confidence in Suárez despite his recent difficulties: “I always have confidence in him because I think he’s very poised... He’s going to be our fourth starter.”

Zack Wheeler will make his final push for Cy Young consideration with a start against Washington on Saturday evening. Wheeler's current record stands at 16-7 with a 2.56 ERA over 31 starts and 193 2/3 innings pitched.

Atlanta’s Chris Sale remains favored for this year's Cy Young Award, but Wheeler could strengthen his case with another strong performance.

“I’ll be itchy, breaking out in a rash,” Thomson remarked when asked if Wheeler would continue pitching beyond six innings if he reaches around 100 pitches.

Other milestones are also within reach for several Phillies players during this weekend series. Aaron Nola needs just 5 2/3 innings pitched to reach 200 innings for this season. Trea Turner seeks one more stolen base for his fourth career 20-20 season while aiming to finish with a .300 batting average; Alec Bohm needs five RBIs for reaching 100; Brandon Marsh requires two stolen bases for hitting twenty; Kyle Schwarber hopes to finish above .250 after batting .197 last year; Nick Castellanos is targeting .250 as well after turning around from batting .194 earlier this season.

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