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The Philadelphia Phillies are going back to the playoffs.
While the Atlanta Braves already secured the National League East crown, Philadelphia clinched a wild-card spot with a dramatic 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday. That means it will have an opportunity to defend its National League crown and go for a second consecutive appearance in the World Series.
Johan Rojas drove home the winning run with an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th, kicking off the celebration in the City of Brotherly Love.
Philadelphia Phillies @Phillies
WALK IT OFF INTO RED OCTOBER. pic.twitter.com/usqUiUVlNu
Philadelphia Phillies @Phillies
Guess who’s back?#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/bfelkBiaj7
The Phillies weren’t the only one to clinch something Tuesday, as the Milwaukee Brewers clinched the National League Central thanks to the Chicago Cubs’ loss to the Braves.
Milwaukee Brewers @Brewers
THE NATIONAL LEAGUE CENTRAL BELONGS TO YOUR MILWAUKEE BREWERS ‼️#BrewedForBattle | #ThisIsMyCrew pic.twitter.com/2TeF4q2SRW
Here is a look at the NL Central standings:
Milwaukee Brewers, 88-69Chicago Cubs, 82-75Cincinnati Reds, 81-77Pittsburgh Pirates, 74-83St. Louis Cardinals, 69-88
It was just a matter of time before Milwaukee clinched, meaning the drama was in the wild-card picture.
There were plenty of clinching scenarios for the Phillies entering play Tuesday.
A victory over the Pirates would have been enough. If not that, Philadelphia could get in with a loss by the Miami Marlins to the New York Mets, a loss by the Cubs to the Braves or a loss by the Arizona Diamondbacks to the Chicago White Sox.
Here is a look at the latest standings in the race for three NL wild-card spots following Tuesday’s clinch:
Philadelphia Phillies, 88-69Arizona Diamondbacks, 83-74Chicago Cubs, 82-75Miami Marlins, 81-75 (0.5 games back)Cincinnati Reds, 81-77 (1.5 games back)
Philadelphia surely wanted to win the division for the first time since the 2011 season entering the campaign, but a wild-card spot didn’t stop it from reaching the Fall Classic last season.
The Phillies defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card Series, the Braves in the Division Series and the San Diego Padres in the National League Championship Series even though they finished in third place in the NL East.
The momentum they generated from that run wasn’t enough to defeat the Houston Astros in the World Series, but it was still an impressive result for a team that once again has championship aspirations.
Philadelphia has plenty of offensive firepower as it heads to the playoffs with Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, J.T. Realmuto, Alec Bohm and Trea Turner, among others, in the lineup. That could be enough to outscore plenty of opponents in the playoffs.
It isn’t just offense, though, as Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler make up a formidable one-two punch to anchor the rotation in the most important moments.
The Phillies also seem to be hitting their stride at the right time.
They won their last five games entering play Tuesday and recently took two of three from the first-place Braves. If they continue to play at such a level, they may take the next step after falling just short of the championship a year ago.
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