Who does Zack Wheeler want the Phillies to face in the postseason?

On Sunday, the Philadelphia Phillies became the first team in Major League Baseball to reach 90 wins this season, and the playoffs are firmly in their sights.

Entering play Monday, the team is 9.0 games up on both the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves in the National League East. And the squad has a 2.0-game cushion over the Los Angeles Dodgers for the No. 1 seed in the NL.

At this point, the only thing left to do is wait to see who the team will face off against in Red October.

Who does Zack Wheeler want the Phillies to face in the postseason?

Ahead of Friday's matchup, Zack Wheeler was asked about the potential of facing his former team — the Mets — in the playoffs this season.

The 34-year-old kept it simple when replying, according to Dan Martin of the New York Post: "Our ultimate goal is just to win. It doesn't matter who we're up against."

When talking about the potential of clinching home-field advantage, Wheeler added: "It's tough for teams to play here, so of course you want to play at home, but we'll play anywhere. We just want to keep winning."

The Phillies are looking to clinch their first NL East title since 2011, and they have the opportunity to secure the No. 1 seed as well.

The past two years, the team has had to claw its way into the postseason via the Wild Card. And the Phillies haven't been strangers to riding that wave of momentum and facing division foes in October lately, either.

In 2022, the team took three of four to retire Atlanta in the National League Division Series on its way to the World Series. Last year, the two teams met for a rematch in the NLDS, where the Phillies once again pulled out the victory to send their division rivals packing.

Phillies have a chance to secure a first-round bye

This year, though, the team has an opportunity to secure a bye during the playoffs, and at this point in the season, the Phillies have a good idea of where they stand against the other potential opponents they'll face during their playoff run.

After the Mets smacked around the Phillies in an 11-3 win to start their most recent series, the Phillies put together two comeback wins over the weekend to widen the gap in the division. So far this season, Philly is 6-2 against New York. Against Atlanta, the team is 6-7.

When looking at the other Wild Card contenders, the Phillies are 5-1 against the San Diego Padres and 3-4 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Against the NL West-leading Dodgers, the Phillies are 5-1, and they enter Monday's series with a 3-0 record against the Milwaukee Brewers, who are leading the NL Central.

Home-field advantage is a huge factor for the Phillies

As Wheeler noted, the team doesn't appear to be concerned about who they face in the postseason, though the value of home-field advantage can't be overstated. Entering Monday, the team is 52-26 at Citizens Bank Park, compared to 38-33 on the road, and over the past two postseasons, it's been well-documented how tough it is for opponents to play in Philadelphia in October.

Wheeler, who spent his first six seasons with the Mets, has been stellar since joining the Phillies. In five playoff games last year, Wheeler put up a 1.95 ERA and 3-0 record in 27 2/3 innings. He was equally dominant on the road and at home, giving up three earned runs in both scenarios.

This year, in 16 home starts, he has a 2.31 ERA in 101 1/3 innings, striking out 115 and holding opponents to a .186 average. Opponents haven't fared much better against him on the road, where he has put up a 2.99 ERA and held batters to a .200 average in 78 1/3 innings.

Wheeler has been a big reason for the team's success this year, and he has a legitimate Cy Young case this season.

As a team, Phillies pitchers have the third-best ERA (3.47) and give up the third-fewest walks per nine innings at home, according to FanGraphs. The number crawls up to 4.05 on the road. As a whole, though, the Phillies' starting pitching staff has been a highlight of the season, even with some individual struggles. The group has a 3.68 ERA this season, regardless of whether or not they are playing at home or on the road.

Once again, the pitching staff will be relied on heavily in the postseason.

While Wheeler and the team aren't too concerned about who they'll be facing in the postseason, they are heading into two series — against the Brewers and Mets — that can help bring the playoff picture into even more focus as the team searches for its first World Series title since 2008.

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