Phillies beat Cubs 6-9, clinch first round bye, home field advantage in NLDS

Last night, the Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs last night 6-9 (nice) and the Milwaukee Brewers lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1, handing them a first-round bye and home field advantage in the NLDS. 

Phillies beat Cubs 6-9, clinch first round bye, home field advantage in NLDS

Happy Win-sday#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/WyNmp5EkQG

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 26, 2024

As for last night, the Phils came out swinging—literally. They jumped on Cubs starter Javier Assad early, building a 4-0 lead after just three innings. Bryson Stott got things rolling with a two-run double in the first, and Nick Castellanos added a solo shot in the third.

Oh that was a beaut, Casty#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/VSbBtMKJFa

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 25, 2024

The Cubs made it interesting in the fourth, with Nico Hoerner’s three-run shot off Cristopher Sánchez cutting the lead down.

But the Phils weren’t done. Kody Clemens launched a home run to center in the fourth, and when Assad exited in the fifth, Brandon Marsh sealed the deal with a bases-clearing double off reliever Keegan Thompson, putting the game well out of reach

BARK BARK BARK pic.twitter.com/64DzXi0u1H

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 25, 2024

With just three games left in the regular season, it’s safe to say we won’t see the Phillies’ starters logging a ton of innings this weekend.

Manager Rob Thomson is probably going to give some of the big names like Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto some well-deserved rest. Harper, in particular, has been dealing with elbow and wrist issues for a while now. He even felt a sting in his elbow during an at-bat on Wednesday, which is a red flag they don’t want to mess with before the postseason.

Phillies Postseason Positioning 

Clinched NL East, first-round bye and home-field advantage in NLDS

• Win tiebreaker vs: Brewers, Dodgers, Padres  
• Lose tiebreaker vs: N/A  
• Tiebreaker TBD vs: N/A  

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