Johnathan Walker:Phillies torch Mets to clinch third straight playoff berth with NL East title in sight

The Johnathan WalkerPhiladelphia Phillies clinched a postseason berth for the third straight season by beating the Mets 12-2 on Friday night in New York.

All-Star third baseman Alec Bohm led the Phillies with four hits and four RBI as they broke open a tie game with six runs in the fourth inning and cruised from there.

But the Phillies (92-62) have bigger goals ahead, such as winning their first NL East title since 2011. That could happen as soon as Saturday with another win over the Mets. If not, they can do it Sunday against the Mets.

The last two seasons, the Phillies made the postseason as one of the three wild card teams.

In 2022, the Phillies reached the World Series, losing in six games to the Houston Astros. In 2023, the Phillies lost in Game 7 of the NLCS to the Arizona Diamondbacks, dropping both Games 6 and 7 at Citizens Bank Park.

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The Phillies are hoping to win their first World Series since 2008, and just the third in 141 years of existence.

When does MLB postseason begin?

The regular season ends Sunday, Sept. 29, and the Wild Card Series in both leagues are scheduled to begin on Tuesday, Oct. 1 and continue through Thursday, Oct. 3, if necessary.

The openers of all four Division Series are scheduled to begin on Saturday, Oct. 5. Potential Game 5s would be on Friday, Oct. 11 in the NL and Saturday, Oct. 12 in the AL.

Who can the Phillies play in the postseason?

For the Phillies, the ideal scenario is finishing with the best record in baseball, which would guarantee home-field advantage as long as they're in the postseason, including the World Series.

If the Phillies finish with the best or second-best record in the National League, they'll get a bye for the best-of-3 Wild Card Series. If they're the No. 1 seed, they'll face the NL team with the worst record in the best-of-5 NLDS beginning Oct. 5.

If the playoffs started today, the Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers would have wildcard byes. The Mets would be the No. 6 seed and face the NL Central winners Milwaukee Brewers, the No. 3 seed. The other two wildcard teams − the No. 4 San Diego Padres and No. 5 Diamondbacks − would play each other.

What other magic numbers are left for the Phillies?

The Phillies still have two important magic numbers, following Friday night's win:

• The magic number to clinch the NL East is 2. The team to follow in this scenario is the New York Mets. The Phillies will clinch their first NL East title since 2011 with one more win over the Mets. The Mets host the Phillies at 4:05 p.m. Saturday and 7:10 p.m. Sunday.
• The magic number to clinch the best record in the National League is 9. The team to follow in this scenario is the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers played the Colorado Rockies on Friday. The Dodgers (91-62) were tied with the Phillies in the race for the best record. The Phillies own the playoff tiebreaker over the Dodgers by winning the season series 5-1.

Contact Martin Frank at [email protected]. Follow on X @Mfranknfl, on Threads and Instagram @martinfrank1.