After securing a win in Queens, Red October is officially returning in 2024.
The Philadelphia Phillies have clinched their playoff spot and look to build on another winning season. Alec Bohm's big night at the plate, including a three-run home run in the fourth inning of Friday's contest against the New York Mets, fueled their bounce-back 12-2 win. With an NL East title only days away, the Phillies are now looking to do more than just clinch a spot, but for now it's a testament to how great this team has been.
Phillies fans will get a kick out of this ...
— MLB (@MLB) September 21, 2024
ALEC BOHM LEAVES THE YARD pic.twitter.com/c6G5ANDJRR
Phillies clinch playoff spot, inch closer to NL East title
On top of another win against the Mets and clinching a playoff berth, the Phillies have already secured tiebreakers against the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Milwaukee Brewers for National League seeding and a potential bye. Their current record is now 92-62 and they’re on pace for a possible 96 wins.
With expectations elevated during the regular season built on momentum, the most recent playoff spot almost seems like an afterthought, per Paul Hagen of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Though fans know, all this team needs is a taste of postseason baseball. The Philly faithful weren't sure what this year’s team was going to bring, but they sure knew they wanted to party in the sea of red at Citizens Bank Park.
The 2024 postseason berth wasn't truly a surprise to fans, but the fall off of other division rivals like the Atlanta Braves and Mets has been. The Braves were expected to be one of the top threats to Philadelphia for the division as they have won the NL East six straight years while the Phillies last won in 2011. The Braves have flopped and currently sit 9.0 games behind in the division. The Mets are looking to hold onto their Wild Card spot with gimmicks like Grimace to help them across the finish line.
Whether it made the division race easier or not is still up for debate. The Braves and Mets have fallen short leaving them battling it out for the final Wild Card spot. They currently are stuck swapping spots until the regular season comes to a conclusion in a little over a week.
By no means is this winning season a fluke for the Phillies. They have bounced back from injuries of their own and on the backs of their stars, have answered the bell. The pitching is coming into focus, the hitting is heating up and the aura of postseason baseball will kick this team into another gear.
Even with other teams fully healthy, who's to say the Phillies wouldn't be sitting at the mountain top anyway. It's time now for the rest of the division to step aside and watch the Phillies represent the NL East once again on a mission to win this year's Fall Classic.