The Phillies ended their regular season Sunday with a scene that could have been lifted out of an old Richie Ashburn scrapbook. A 2-1 walk-off win over the Twins. A standing-O for a homegrown ace. And, oh yeah, a batting champion in red pinstripes for the first time in 67 years.
Trea Turner — bad hamstring, rusty swing, 0-for-2 box score line and all — still walked off with the National League batting crown. His .304 average made him the only .300 hitter in the entire league and the first Phillie to claim the title since Ashburn hit .350 in 1958. That little footnote turned a modest September cameo into a milestone moment.
“It’s cool,” Turner said, shrugging the way batting champs shrug. “Only one guy gets it in each league. That’s what makes it special.”
The rest of the day belonged to Cristopher Sánchez, who spun 5 2/3 innings of scoreless brilliance, struck out eight, and left to 42,637 fans showering him with the kind of ovation that follows Cy Young candidates off the mound. He finishes his breakout year with a 2.50 ERA in 202 innings — and a start looming in Game 1 of the NLDS.
The game itself felt like an appetizer for October. After Max Kepler tied it with a homer in the eighth, Orion Kerkering struck out the side in the 10th. Moments later, Nick Castellanos’ sacrifice fly sealed the Phillies’ 96th win — their highest total since 2011 — and their fifth walk-off of the year.
There were other footnotes, too: Kyle Schwarber closed with 56 homers and 132 RBIs, just two blasts shy of Ryan Howard’s single-season record. The Phillies became the rare club that can say it produced the league leaders in batting average, home runs, and RBIs all in the same season.
Now comes the layoff. A couple workouts. An intrasquad scrimmage Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park. And then Saturday, October baseball begins. By then, Turner will be running full speed again. By then, Sánchez will be taking the ball for Game 1. And by then, South Philly will be ready for the only thing that matters next: the chase for a parade.
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