Phillies secure bye in the first round; NLDS starts at Citizens Bank Park, race for first place remains exciting

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Nick Castellanos, Trea Turner and Kody Clemens each hit a home run and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs 9-6 on Wednesday night, securing a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

Castellanos had three hits and scored three times. Bryson Stott also had three hits and Brandon Marsh scored three runs for the Phillies, who won their first NL East title in 13 years on Monday night.

RELATED TOPICS: How the Phillies secured a first-round bye in the playoffs

Combined with Milwaukee’s 2-1 loss to Pittsburgh, Philadelphia secured the bye and home-field advantage in the NLDS. The Phillies had the tiebreaker against the Brewers after winning the season series against the NL Central champions.

The first NLDS game will take place on October 5th at Citizens Bank Park.

In the race for first place

Depending on the Dodgers’ success, Philadelphia will finish the regular season as the No. 1 or No. 2 seed.

READ MORE: Phillies secure first NL East title since 2011 with 6-2 win over Cubs

The last three games will take place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday against the Washington Nationals.

Philadelphia can secure home-field advantage through the NL Championship Series by finishing the season tied or ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Phillies have qualified for the final two postseason rounds via the Wild Card round. In this round, which begins on October 1, 3rd place will face 6th place and 4th place will face 5th place.

Here’s a look at the postseason picture as we enter the final week of the regular season.

The Phillies’ NLDS schedule

• Game 1: Saturday, October 5 / at Citizens Bank Park

• Game 2: Sunday, October 6 / at Citizens Bank Park

• Game 3: Tuesday, October 8 / Phillies travel to opposing team’s stadium

• Game 4: Wednesday, October 9 / Phillies travel to opposing team’s stadium (if necessary)

• Game 5: Friday, October 11 / at Citizens Bank Park (if necessary)

How to get tickets

Fans can now register to purchase tickets for playoff games at Citizens Bank Park.

“Given that our season ticket base has doubled to 20,000 over the past two years, ticket availability will be extremely limited through this opportunity,” said Phillies Senior Vice President of Ticket Operations & Projects John Weber.

Only fans whose registration was selected in the drawing will be able to purchase tickets.

You can register now at phillies.com/postseason.

Registration for all rounds of the postseason ends on Saturday, October 12 at 11:59 p.m. EDT.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.