The Philadelphia Phillies will have a rooting interest in the San Francisco Giants over the last few weeks of the season. The Phillies will certainly have their own work to do to ensure their playoff spot, but their fate also depends on what plays out in the rest of the National League.
They did their job by taking two of three against the Milwaukee Brewers, but the Los Angeles Dodgers remain on their heels for the second seed in the NL. The Giants, in turn, will play a big part in how it shakes out.
Giants can help Phillies secure top-two seed in NL playoffs with seven games against Dodgers
The Dodgers and Giants, NL West rivals, will face off seven more times in the remaining weeks of the regular season, with three in San Francisco from Sept. 12-14 and four in Los Angeles from Sept. 18-21.
The Phillies enter Saturday four games up on the Dodgers for second spot in the NL standings. While the breathing room for the second seed is nice, the Dodgers aren't just going to roll over. They will be a threat all the way until the end of the season, so this stretch will be paramount to the Phillies' October hopes. Also sandwiched in between the Dodgers' two series against the Giants is the Phillies' own three game series against Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium.
At 72-69, the Giants are in striking distance of a playoff spot at just four games back of a Wild Card. They still have a lot to play for. With the flukiness of the Dodgers' play at times, the Giants could be set up to play spoiler for one of their long-standing rivals.
Here's how the NL division leaders and Wild Card standings look entering action on Saturday:
Team | W-L | GB |
|---|---|---|
Brewers | 87-55 | -- |
Phillies | 82-59 | 4.5 |
Dodgers | 78-63 | 8.5 |
Cubs | 81-60 | +5.0 |
Mets | 76-65 | -- |
Padres | 76-65 | -- |
Giants | 72-69 | 4.0 |
Mets' Wild Card spot in danger with Giants on their tail
San Francisco also has a chance to play spoiler in the Phillies' favor, too. The New York Mets is the team the Giants trail in the Wild Card race. The Mets were on the verge of missing the playoffs last season before getting in as the sixth seed, and that situation has played out again this season.
Those four games between the Mets and Giants could easily shrink if the Phillies can just continue to grind out wins and guarantee themselves a second straight first-round bye while the Giants fulfill their own playoff hopes. It might seem far-fetched, but there could easily be a big swing that pushes the Mets out of playoff contention all together. It could be a perfect scenario given the Phillies obvious trouble recently at Citi Field.
The Phillies are focusing on their performance, which is important for them to remain consistent in the heat of a pennant race. It's even more significant as they're one pitcher down in Zack Wheeler. Phillies fans, on the other hand, will have no problem scoreboard watching, apparently like Phillies manager Rob Thomson does. However it shakes out, it should be an exciting final few weeks of the 2025 regular season for the Phillies and the other top teams in the NL.