September 22, 2026
Geoff Burke/Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
The Phillies have a ton left to play for this week.
The Phillies have six games left to play, and by far the hardest slate of games in all of Major League Baseball — hosting the best team in the NL and then the best team in the AL to end the regular season.
With a magic number of three entering Tuesday's action, Philly needs some combination of wins and Diamondbacks losses to equal three to clinch at least the final Wild Card spot in the NL.
The NL East is lost, as the Braves pulled ahead by six games with six to play this Sunday. They hold the tiebreaker, and have ended the Phillies' short two-year streak of division championships.
But they can still improve their playoff draw with a solid week and some help.
The Cubs and Padres are the two teams to keep watch on this week. Both of them losing is ideal for the Phillies — who also need to win.
If Philadelphia can finish this week at least tied with the Padres, they'll get at least the five-seed. That position would allow them to avoid playing the Braves in Atlanta to start the postseason. If they can finish one game ahead of the Cubs, they'll host the first round of the NL Wild Card at Citizens Bank Park. And despite their success on the road this season, the team should still have a strong preference to earn the home-field advantage.
Here's a look at the games that are relevant to start the week. Preferred winners are bolded:
• Brewers at Phillies: Wins by the Phillies are obviously the main thing. But also, the Phils can force the Dodgers and Brewers to continue playing meaningful games, which isn't the worst thing in the world. Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola are set to pitch the first two games of this series and then the Phils will see where they're at.
• Marlins at Cubs: The Phillies need help from their division foes from Miami. Chicago is definitely a clear favorite to get the 4-seed in the NL, due in part to their easier schedule. They will finish the year against the Red Sox, who also don't really have much to play for, close to locked into the AL's second wild card. So Philly really needs a miracle here, as the Cubs will be much more motivated for every one of the remaining six games this season than either of their opponents. The Phils are essentially behind by two games, as they lose a theoretical Chicago tiebreaker.
• Padres at Dodgers: The Phillies are a game behind San Diego, but they have won the season series, so they just need to be tied with them at the end of the day Sunday. The Dodgers will be playing hard in this one, as they're just two games behind the Brewers for the NL's best record and home-field advantage for the entire postseason. The Padres finish the year against the Diamondbacks while the Dodgers wrap up the regular season in San Francisco this weekend.
Diamondbacks at Rockies: Arizona is just barely alive for a playoff spot, trailing the Phillies by four games. For them to make the postseason, they'd need to either go 6-0 against Colorado and San Diego with the Phillies going 2-5, or 5-1 with the Phillies going 1-5. Any other outcome puts Philadelphia in the bracket. An ideal outcome here is for the D'backs to lose this series in Colorado before beating the Padres next weekend. That's also pretty unlikely.
The Phils have to take care of business, and also get a little but lucky. The first thing they need to do is focus on winning three games this week. That'll get them in. If they do that quickly, chances are they'll take the last few games of the regular season to test a few potential bullpen changes (like Andrew Painter) and get their rotation in line.
A Wild Card round in Philly seems like a pipe dream, but you never know. It's why they play the games.
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