August 17, 2026
Nick Wosika/Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
The Phillies are back in control of their playoff destiny.
Thanks to their first series sweep since June, the Phillies went to sleep holding an NL postseason slot Sunday night.
But it's by the slimmest of margins.
With 37 games left to play, the Phillies are currently tied with the Padres for the last two Wild Card spots — though they own the season tiebreaker with San Diego putting them technically ahead and in the No. 2 spot right now.
There are five teams realistically battling for those two playoff spots, with the Cubs currently five games clear of the Phillies for that top berth (and the Braves 7.5 games clear for the NL East lead). The Phillies will play two of those five hopeful teams this week, all at home.
First, beginning Monday night, Philly will host the Marlins for a trio of games looking to give them a knockout punch. Miami is three games behind the Phils. So far this season, the Phillies and Marlins are tied with five wins apiece against one another in their season campaigns. If the Phillies win the series, they'll hold the tiebreaker and they'll also separate from them even further.
The Marlins are the more important series this week but the Cardinals, visiting this coming weekend, are also in the mix sitting 3.5 games back (and host the non-competitive Reds before they come to Philadelphia). You may recall last week the Phillies lost two of three in St. Louis, so there's another tiebreaker at stake here. It's the last time the Phillies will face either of these teams this season.
| Team | Record | GB |
| Cubs | 72-53 | +5 |
| Phillies | 67-58 | — |
| Padres | 67-58 | — |
| Diamondbacks | 66-59 | 1 |
| Marlins | 64-61 | 3 |
| Cardinals | 63-61 | 3.5 |
The Phillies would lose a tiebreaker against Chicago, should they catch them. As far as the Diamondbacks go, they trail the season series 1-2, but will face them out west in two weeks time (right before they play the Braves again).
Not surprisingly, the Phillies are tied for the fourth toughest remaining strength of schedule with a bevy of contending NL teams still left on the slate. Only four of their 12 remaining series are against bad teams. Philly is 44-28 against teams below .500. They are 23-30 against teams with winning records.
If they make the postseason, they'll truly have earned it. The stretch run is now.
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