Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto hit home runs, and Aaron Nola struck out seven batters to help the Philadelphia Phillies secure their first NL East title since 2011 with a 6-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Monday night.
Carlos Estévez retired Michael Busch on a fly ball to end the game, and the Phillies celebrated excitedly on the infield. The Phillie Phanatic joined the celebration, waving a 2024 flag while fans stood and recorded the moment.
“I think a lot of guys were kind of looking around and seeing them get fired up and them get excited and being on their feet,” slugger Bryce Harper said. “Just really cool to see. Hopefully, we can do that a lot more.”
With a playoff spot already secured last week, the Phillies won their 12th division championship and are aiming for the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage in the National League playoffs.
“We need to get the bye, that’s pretty important to us. Really important to us,” manager Rob Thomson said. “Whether you’re the division champion or not, I don’t think that gives you any type of advantage.
I think having home-field advantage and having a bye is going to help us quite a bit.”
Philadelphia won five consecutive NL East titles from 2007 to 2011, then went ten years without making the playoffs. They entered as wild cards in the last two postseasons, making strong runs that ended in disappointment.
They lost the World Series to Houston in 2022 and had series leads of 2-0 and 3-2 in the NL Championship Series against Arizona last season but still lost.
This is the third time the Phillies have reached the postseason three years in a row (1976-78 and 2007-11). Philadelphia’s only World Series championships were in 1980 and 2008.
“We’ve just got to play Philly baseball and continue to play,” Harper said.
Nola (13-8) allowed two runs in over six innings. He left the game to a standing ovation when he was replaced by Matt Strahm.
