Phillies Clinch First National League East Pennant Since 2011
The Philadelphia Phillies clinched their first National League East pennant in 13 years at Citizens Bank Park on Monday. The 6-2 win against the Chicago Cubs put the final punctuation mark on an accomplishment that’s seemed inevitable since June.
The weekend at Citi Field didn’t go as planned. The final two Cubs hitters on Monday combined to see 15 pitches. The Rocky chain theme played seemingly about 100 times until Carlos Estevez finally recorded the final out.
The champagne flowed through the clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park late into night. Football helmets, overalls, and oversized goggles signaled postseason baseball right around the corner.
Phillies Dominate NL East in 2024
The pennant breaks a streak of six consecutive National League East titles for the Atlanta Braves, who won the World Series in 2021 during the run of dominance.
Phillies teams of the “Golden Era” made an NL East championship seem like an afterthought. Five consecutive division titles from 2007-2011 shifted the focus to greater goals.
While the current core has now clinched three consecutive postseason appearances, the division title is a new accomplishment. Their goal from the beginning of spring training was to avoid the slow starts that pushed them out of the division race in 2022 and 2023.
A red hot start with dominant starting pitching and a roster rolling on all cylinders gave the Phillies a 10-game lead by mid June. They never let their first-place lead sink below five games after the midway point of the 2024 season.
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The reigning champion Braves coincidentally dealt with devastating injuries to Spencer Strider, Ronald Acuña Jr., and other key contributors that made the NL East look like a conclusion.
The New York Mets have overtaken the Braves for second place. The two division rivals will battle for a playoff spot through the final week of the regular season.
Looking Ahead to Red October
Rob Thomson spoke about the progression of goals as the Phillies inch toward Red October.
A major collapse is necessary to lose the second seed in the National League to the Milwaukee Brewers with only five games remaining.
The Phillies will, however, look to keep pace with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in baseball and home field advantage at Citizens Bank Park throughout the MLB Playoffs.
The New York Yankees also have a legitimate chance to earn the best record and steal home field advantage in a potential World Series matchup.
“The two biggest things really for me are winning the division and getting the bye. Then if we get home field throughout, that’s a bonus, but I won’t put players in danger to get that.” -Rob Thomson
Lining up a starting rotation that carried the Phillies to the National League East crown will take priority in the final five games of the season.
Thomson will also look to get Austin Hays some at-bats to help his left fielder regain rhythm since a kidney infection has kept him out since September 1. Fringe roster players like Kody Clemens, Weston Wilson, and Cal Stevenson also have an impression to make on their manager in the final days of the regular season.
The Phillies expect to play their first game of a long Red October run at Citizens Bank Park when the NLDS begins on Saturday, October 5.
