Phillies clinch 3rd straight playoff berth and close in on NL East title

NEW YORK (AP) — After the Philadelphia Phillies clinched a third consecutive playoff appearance Friday night, they shook hands on the field and walked back toward the dugout as though it were any other regular-season victory.

Moments later, manager Rob Thomson gathered his players in the clubhouse and thanked them during a tempered champagne toast acknowledging their significant achievement.

But no wild party, with grown men spraying booze and guzzling beer and soaking each other in glee.

Not just yet, anyway.

“Pretty calm and relaxed from what it usually turns into,” All-Star third baseman Alec Bohm said with a chuckle.

Qualifying for the postseason is a long way from winning the World Series. Nobody knows that better than the Phillies these days — and they have much loftier goals than simply taking part.

“You look around and you see all the talent, you see all the guys, you see the front office, the moves they make and things like that, you look at it on paper at the beginning of the year, and this team should be in the playoffs,” Bohm said. “So it’s good that we’ve stayed healthy throughout the year and done all the things we need to do to get to this point. Now it’s just a matter of, keep going.”

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Bryce Harper and the Phillies punched their latest playoff ticket — this one long expected — with a 12-2 blowout of the New York Mets.

Assured at least a National League wild card, Philadelphia can secure its first NL East title since 2011 with one more win this weekend against the second-place Mets at Citi Field.

“It’s hard to go wire-to-wire, and I think our team’s done a great job obviously this whole season,” Harper said. “We’ve got bigger goals and things like that, but this is a great moment.”

With the division crown so close, the Phillies kept it mellow Friday night — hoping to let loose soon with a boozy clubhouse bash after locking up first place.

“It’ll be a little more rowdy, for sure,” said Bohm, who homered and finished with four hits and four RBIs.

Seeking their third World Series championship, the Phillies overtook Atlanta for the division lead on May 3 and haven’t trailed since.

Philadelphia (92-62) is tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best record in the majors and on track for a first-round bye in the playoffs. It’s the third time the Phillies have reached the postseason three years in a row (1976-78 and 2007-11).

“Not everybody gets the chance to play for the World Series every year, so as much as maybe people in this room feel like this is where we should be, it’s still an accomplishment,” Bohm said.

Harper, Bohm, Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner and Nick Castellanos have powered the offense, while Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez have anchored the pitching staff on a team largely unchanged from 2023.

Philadelphia won five straight NL East titles from 2007-11, then went 10 years without making the playoffs. A wild-card entry each of the past two postseasons, the Phillies put together consecutive October runs that ended in heartbreak.

They reached the 2022 World Series, losing to Houston in six games, and dropped a seven-game NL Championship Series to Arizona last year after leading the underdog Diamondbacks 2-0 and 3-2.

So this time, the Phillies are looking to go all the way and finally finish the job.

Philadelphia’s only World Series championships came in 1980 and 2008.

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