What is the Phillies NL Wild Card magic number after close victory over the Mets?

While there's no statistical chance for the Philadelphia Phillies to win the NL East this season (thanks, Braves...), the club remains in a solid position to be the National League's top Wild Card seed. In Thursday night's contest, the Phillies squeaked out a narrow 5-4 victory over the division rival Mets.

This win was the Phillies' 84th of the season and moves their magic number to clinch a playoff berth down to just five games. To clinch the top Wild Card spot and ensure that they host the Wild Card Series in the upcoming postseason? That's down to six with nine regular season games remaining.

With the Braves continuing their utter dominance, there hasn't been a real shot at taking home the NL East title for quite some time if you're the Phillies. However, this team continues to roll, as they are riding a 6-4 record over their last 10 games and have a comfortable five-game cushion in the Wild Card standings. As things currently stand, the Diamondbacks (81-72) are in the second NL WC spot and the Cubs/Marlins (79-74) are tied for the third spot.

The goal remains a simple one for the Phillies: just keep winning ballgames. Entering Friday, FanGraphs has the team's playoff odds at a cool 100 percent, with a 6.2 percent chance of taking home a World Series ring. Here is a closer look at the competition in the Wild Card race.

Phillies (84-69): +5.0 Games (Magic Number to clinch: 5)

Diamondbacks (81-72): — +2.0 Games (Magic Number to clinch: 8)

Marlins (79-74): — (Magic Number to clinch: 10)

Cubs (79-74): — (Magic Number to clinch: 10)

Reds (79-75):— 0.5 GB

To round out the 2023 regular season, the Phillies have six more games to play against the Mets, with the other three coming against the scuffling Pittsburgh Pirates. Over the upcoming weekend, the Mets are in town for all three days before the Phillies get a much-needed and well-deserved day off. From there? Six straight games (three at home, three on the road) to round things out. All they have to do is pad the win column and they will once again have a shot at a championship.