Phillies clinch bye, shift focus to surviving the final 4 games of the regular season

The Phillies already took care of business, clinching the first-round bye with that home run massacre against Miami. Now the only thing that matters is making it through this final stretch without anybody else snapping a hamstring or catching a foul ball to the face.

All Eight Phillies Homers On Wednesday Night:

You want 'em?
We got 'em!

All EIGHT homers from a record-setting night at The Bank pic.twitter.com/bowmjGmsEY

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 25, 2025

Phillies smash eight homers, clinch first-round bye

The big storyline is Trea Turner, who hasn’t played since September 7 thanks to a strained hammy. He’s been taking live BP, working his way up the running ladder. Topper says he’s at “75 percent…maybe 77 percent.”

Turner should be back in time for the NLDS, and the Phils are banking on it. Even after missing two weeks, the guy still leads the NL in batting average (.305) and hits (179). He’s top three in WAR behind Shohei Ohtani and Geraldo Perdomo.

He’s that important.

Then there’s JT Realmuto, who scared the life out of everybody when a foul ball smoked him in the hand earlier this week. X-rays were negative, just a bruise, but the visual alone had fans dry-heaving.

Speaking of Sánchez, he’s lined up for the season finale and then Game 1 of the NLDS. Ranger Suárez and Jesús Luzardo will follow, which is exactly why keeping the lefty trio in one piece is priority number one.

With Zack Wheeler shut down, the No. 4 starter job is floating between Aaron Nola, Walker Buehler, and Taijuan Walker. Not exactly the trust tree, but we’ll cross that bridge in a seven-game series.

There are side quests to watch in these last four games. Turner’s chasing the Phillies’ first batting title since Richie Ashburn in 1958. Kyle Schwarber’s three bombs away from Ryan Howard’s single-season record. Maybe the bullpen finds its groove.

Kyle Schwarber enters MLB history books with Home Run No. 55 against the Marlins

All that is great but the real storyline is whether Rob Thomson can bubble-wrap this team until October. The bye is locked. The records are cool. Now it’s about holding your breath until the postseason starts.

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