With one of the most demanding remaining schedules left in the season, the Philadelphia Phillies are looking to conquer this last month of regular-season baseball as they set their sights on playing deep into October. We're not even done with the 2025 season and we're already looking ahead to next year after the recent release of the 2026 schedule.
The Phillies have a rough stretch around the All-Star break, during which the team won't be at home to accommodate the FIFA World Cup and proceedings before the Midsummer Classic comes to Citizens Bank Park. However, the worst month of the team's schedule next year is by far September, again.
Phillies' 2026 season could come down to wire with brutal September schedule
The only reprieve during the last month of the Phillies' 2026 schedule seems to be the two games against the Washington Nationals in the middle of September and potentially the season finale against the Tampa Bay Rays if they become sellers again, like this year.
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Our 2026 schedule is here! 🗓️ pic.twitter.com/wUigUZknE2
While not directly in the division race, almost every team the Phillies will face in the last month of regular-season play will likely be vying for some kind of postseason berth. That can directly translate to both teams, whether home or away, needing to bring their A-game.
September 2024, which was a rough month for the Phillies, and this last month of play in 2025's regular season seem to share a similar tune. It has become normal to expect a rough final month of play in Philadelphia. Looking ahead to next year, with the information many already have from having watched this season, it wouldn't be wild to assume that next September will be challenging as well.
They begin the month on the road against the Arizona Diamondbacks to end a nine-game, 10-day West Coast trip. They also have a three-game series against the perennially competitive Houston Astros and the Milwaukee Brewers, who are always a tough matchup.
With the Phillies scheduled to face three of the other four NL East teams in September next year, the hypothetical playoff race could come down to the wire, or at least between the two hottest teams in the division this year, the Phillies and the New York Mets. Expect the four-game series the Phillies will play against their rivals from Queens from Sept. 17-20 to be a tough one, as Philadelphia continues to struggle whenever it visits its division rival in the Big Apple.
Since the Mets acquired Juan Soto, they've become the little brother the Phillies once were to the Atlanta Braves. After their busy offseason, they continued to add at the deadline as they try to dethrone the Phillies in first place, as they, at the very least, should secure a Wild Card spot for a second year in a row.
Speaking of the Braves, whom the Phillies will see seven times next September, they have had a rough couple of seasons the past two years. However, now that they're returning to full health, Atlanta will be tough to compete with again, as early as next year, according to Will Leitch of MLB.com.
While the talent in Atlanta might be healthy again, the Phillies seem to always have their number, especially at Citizens Bank Park. They will host Atlanta for a wrap-around series from Sept. 4-7 and then visit Truist Park the following weekend from Sept. 11-13. If the Phillies can remain healthy to the end of the season, they should be able to handle the Braves as they search to regain relevancy going into 2026.
The third-place team in the division just sent a "warning flare" of their intentions for next season, as they recently acquired shortstop Ha-Seong Kim from the Rays, assuming the month of play they'll see of him after coming off the injured list goes well. It's expected that they'll become active in free agency to then make the NL East a three-headed monster, rather than the two-team race it's been since the Phillies returned to postseason contention in 2022.