PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies have a tradition that has endured through the good and the bad times at Citizens Bank Park. Minutes before the final home regular-season game, a player takes the microphone. He has to deliver a speech. Two years ago, Kyle Schwarber addressed the crowd not knowing if the Phillies would have another home game in 2022. Last September, Trea Turner thanked the fans for their positivity as the Phillies secured a wild-card berth.
This year, Brandon Marsh stepped onto the field. “We can’t do it without you guys,” Marsh said. “We’re looking forward to a lot of home games here this October.” Then, he barked.
“AND WE GONNA HAVE TO LET THE DOGS EAT” 🔥
Brandon Marsh firing us up for RED OCTOBER!! 🔴 pic.twitter.com/jQsg0XAS0n
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) September 25, 2024
Now, the Phillies know this: They will not play a postseason game until Oct. 5. They have secured a first-round bye through their 9-6 win Wednesday over the Chicago Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers’ 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Phillies (94-65) will have no worse than the No. 2 seed. They can still finish with the best record in the National League and guarantee home-field advantage throughout the postseason. They hold tiebreakers over both the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, who are 93-64 and 91-66, respectively, entering their game Wednesday night.
But the club will not push to great lengths this weekend in Washington to capture the No. 1 seed. The Phillies will remain in rotation — Ranger Suárez, Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola — although all of those starters could have abbreviated outings. They will rest some regulars; Bryce Harper might sit for most of the weekend.
But that No. 1 seed is a goal.
“If there’s a Game 7, we get it here,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “And I think that’s important.”
The Phillies sold out Citizens Bank Park for the 47th time in 80 home games (one fewer than normal, due to the London trip). They finished with 3,308,638 in attendance — the sixth-highest mark in franchise history. They went 54-27 here, the club’s second-highest winning percentage at home since 1900.
(Photo of Nick Castellanos: Tim Nwachukwu / Getty Images)
