The Philadelphia Phillies have come down from their ridiculous pace after the hiring of interim manager Don Mattingly. If the season were to end today, the Phillies would be in sole possession of the sixth and final Wild Card spot. The club has loftier expectations than just sneaking into the postseason after back-to-back NL East division crowns, but that is where they find themselves in mid-August. The ironic factor is, if the season ended today, their opponent would be none other than the current third seed, the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The juggernaut that sent them home in Game 4 of the NLDS in 2025 would be a premier matchup during Wild Card weekend. The best-of-three series with matchups and recurring postseason appearances would be must-see TV in a shortened series in LA. Similar to the way they got into the postseason in 2022, the Phillies would be up against it with an entire series on the road and against one of the best clubs in recent baseball history.
The Phillies have an uphill battle with hypothetical welcome to the 2026 postseason
It's not even a question that the Dodgers would be a rude awakening in any postseason series, especially the first round. The Dodgers held the first seed for a while before a recent seven-game losing streak dropped them to the bottom rung among other division leaders. They have every opportunity to regain that placing and be rewarded a first-round bye, but as things stand right now, the Phillies have their work cut out for them and will be at the mercy of whoever holds that third seed by season's end.
Four straight postseason appearances is impressive for any MLB club. The Phillies had missed out on postseason play 11 straight years before their breakthrough, so just to get to the dance means everything. The Phillies secured a first-round bye in both 2024 and 2025, but were still eliminated by the first team they faced. That's looking much harder to do this season, given how mediocre the team is playing and the strength of the rest of the National League.
Thanks in part to the Atlanta Braves slipping, the Phillies got to within two games of first place in the NL East before the All-Star break. They were never able to close the gap entirely and now rely on the shuffling around of the three Wild Card spots, filled with tiebreakers and constantly worrying about fending off everyone else.
The Dodgers gave the Phillies a run for their money last October, and if the stars align this year, it'll be the same daunting task to fend off a team that has won three titles in the past six years. Anything can happen in a shortened playoff series, but it really could go either way. A three-game series doesn't guarantee anything, but the Phillies may actually be better equipped to try to slay the expensive giant of MLB this year vs. last.
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