Nick Castellanos, Trea Turner, and Kody Clemens powered the Phillies with home runs as Philadelphia secured a 9-6 victory over the Cubs on Wednesday night, clinching a first-round bye in the playoffs.
Castellanos had a standout night, going 3-for-4 with three runs scored. Bryson Stott also collected three hits, while Brandon Marsh drove in three runs. The Phillies, fresh off their first NL East title in 13 years clinched on Monday, now head into October with momentum.
With Milwaukee's 2-1 loss to Pittsburgh, Philadelphia locked up a bye and home-field advantage in the NLDS. The Phillies own the tiebreaker over the Brewers, having won the season series against the NL Central champs.
Philadelphia will host Game 1 of the NLDS on Oct. 5 at Citizens Bank Park. Meanwhile, the Cubs got two homers from Nico Hoerner and four singles from Isaac Paredes, but dropped two of three in the series, finishing their road slate with a 39-42 record.
The Phillies closed out their home schedule with a 54-27 record, though one loss came in London against the Mets. Wednesday's crowd of 42,438 marked the 47th sellout of the year, boosting their season attendance at Citizens Bank Park to 3,308,638.
The Phillies now head to Washington for a three-game series, starting Friday, where they’ll look to lock down home-field advantage through the NL Championship Series.
Turner set the tone early, launching a solo homer in the first inning. Stott followed with a two-run double off Javier Assad (7-6), giving the Phillies a 3-0 lead. Castellanos added a solo shot in the third before Hoerner answered with a three-run blast off Cristopher Sánchez in the fourth, pulling the Cubs within one.
Marsh provided breathing room, ripping a three-run double off Keegan Thompson in the fifth to make it 8-4. Assad, tagged for eight hits and six runs in 4 1/3 innings, took the loss. Sánchez allowed four runs—three earned—over 4 2/3 innings, with José Ruiz (5-1) picking up the win in relief.
Ranger Suárez (12-7, 3.15 ERA) will take the mound Friday as the Phillies open their final series of the regular season against the Nationals.
