Phillies beat Cubs and secure bye in first round of playoffs

Phillies beat Cubs to earn first-round playoff bye. Originally published on NBC Sports Philadelphia

There will be no wildcard series for the Phillies this time.

Two nights after clinching the NL East, they secured a top-two spot and a first-round bye with a 9-6 win over the Cubs. They also needed a Brewers loss, and Willy Adames was thrown out at second base trying to extend a single moments later, and Milwaukee lost at Pittsburgh, sealing the deal.

“I saw the Pirates’ last out on the big screen and the whole crowd went crazy,” Brandon Marsh said. “That’s what it’s about. This is huge for us.”

The Phils stunned Javier Assad in the first inning with another soft, easy home run hit 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 hit a home run in the fourth. Both Castellanos and Stott had three hits on the night, and Castellanos finished the night with a .428 slugging percentage, the highest of the season.

Cristopher Sanchez started three scoreless innings, but an error by Stott extended the fourth and Nico Hoerner hit a three-run home run to tie the game at one. Marsh tied it with a three-run double in the fifth and the second half of the evening became much more relaxed for the Phillies and the sellout crowd of 42,438.

They finished the regular season with a score of 54-26 at Citizens Bank Park, having won more than two-thirds of their home games. (There was also one “home loss” in London.) Their next games at CBP will be October 5 and 6 for Games 1 and 2 of the NLDS.

“This is the third year we’ve had a really solid core group of guys. 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 felt. There’s no place like it. We love it and we just have to keep going.”

The only thing left on the line this weekend in Washington DC is home field advantage throughout the NL playoffs. The Phillies are 94-65 and the Dodgers are 93-64, with the Phils 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 only abbreviated appearances of no more than five innings unless the Phillies have a real chance to get past the Dodgers in the final 48 hours. Wheeler and Nola will then have a full week off before their first playoff starts, while Sanchez will have at least nine days off.

Friday’s game will also be important because it is Suarez’s last preseason game of the regular season after he had control problems in his last three appearances.

Sanchez was one out away from qualifying for the win on Wednesday, finishing his stellar season with an 11-9 record and a 3.32 ERA in 181⅔ innings that could earn him some fifth-place votes in the Cy Young Awards.

“This is truly a wonderful thing,” said Sanchez. “I never dreamed I would pitch 182 innings in the major leagues.”

At home, Sanchez finished his season 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 huge home-away splits and that will be a factor, although manager Rob Thomson said Wednesday afternoon that the opponent will be a bigger factor.

“This kid has had a hell of a season, he really has,” Thomson said. “He’s a big part of it.”

Both Sanchez and Nola are headed to the postseason, so that’s a good problem to have.

“We have a couple more games in Washington to tweak some things and sharpen the knife a little bit,” Marsh said. “We’re all excited. We’ve worked our asses off for this moment and we’re going to make the most of it. We just have to stay hungry and humble, keep our heads down and keep going.”