10 things to know after Phillies’ late-night National League East clincher

The Phillies clinched their second straight National League East title on Monday in a wild 6-5, 10-inning win over the Dodgers in Los Angeles.

In a game that ended at 1:07 a.m. EST, David Robertson induced a grounder from Max Muncy to first baseman Bryce Harper for the final out with the bases loaded, clinching the title.

Here’s 10 things to know about the Phillies’ win and what it means.

The closer

The Phillies acquired lights-out closer Jhoan Duran from the Twins at the deadline, and he had been nearly perfect with 14 saves in 15 opportunities.

Duran entered in the ninth with a 5-4 lead and his stuff was filthy. He struck out the first hitter before going 0-2 on Andy Pages, but the right-hander hung a knuckle curve and Pages hit it deep to left to tie the game.

After the Phillies pushed a run across on J.T. Realmuto’s sacrifice fly in the 10th, they turned to the other mid-season bullpen addition - David Robertson.

The 40-year-old Robertson didn’t pitch the first half of the season but signed with the Phillies as a free agent and joined the team in early August. He walked a pair of runners in the 10th - one intentionally - to load the bases with one out but popped up Miguel Rojas for the second out. After appearing to have Muncy struck out on a 1-2 check swing, Robertson induced the grounder to first and Muncy slipped, making it an easy play for Harper to end the game.

The Showman

Harper - who has a flair for the dramatic but has been up-and-down this season which included an injured list stint for wrist pain - gave the Phillies a 5-4 lead in the top of the eighth by homering into the right-center field stands. The hit stood to be the game-winner until Pages tied it in the ninth.

Wilson comes up huge

Weston Wilson, typically a platoon outfielder who has spent parts of the season in Triple-A, hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the top of the seventh inning. Because of injuries to infielders Trea Turner and Alec Bohm, Wilson started at second base. Wilson’s homer gave the Phillies a 4-3 lead, but Mookie Betts homered off Orion Kerkering in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game.

Bader’s heads-up play

Harrison Bader, like Duran acquired from the Twins at the trade deadline, scored the go-ahead run in the 10th inning. As the ghost runner, he stole third off reliever Blake Treinen, allowing Bader to come home on Realmuto’s sacrifice fly.

Bader has been a shockingly productive addition since joining the Phillies at the deadline. A career .248 hitter, Bader is hitting .338 with a .917 OPS as a Phillie.

Another Schwarbomb

Kyle Schwarber hit his 53rd home run of the season in the first inning. The designated hitter and pending free agent trails Ryan Howard by five for the Phillies’ single-season record.

What a week

The Phillies’ magic number to clinch the National League East was 13 one week ago before they started a four-game series with the Mets. The Phillies swept the Mets, then won their next two games while New York continued to skid.

The Phillies were in second place as recently as Aug. 2 and led the Mets by only four games after being swept in Citi Field Aug. 25-27. Now, they are division champions with 11 games to go.

The Phillies missed a chance to win the the division Sunday when they lost to the Royals but they didn’t let another opportunity get away.

See you in October?

The Phillies are currently the No. 2 seed in the National League - which comes with a first-round bye - while the Dodgers are the No. 3 seed. The Phillies lead the Dodgers by 5 1/2 games and have a magic number of 7 to earn the bye.

The Phillies have two more games with the Dodgers this week, but if the teams remain in their current positions Los Angeles - the reigning World Series champions - would play the Phillies in a best-of-5 National League Division Series should the Dodgers win their wild card series.

The Phillies can still earn the No. 1 seed. They trail the Milwaukee Brewers by 1 1/2 games.

Lucky No. 13

The Phillies won their 13th National League East title. They also won the division in 1976-1978, 1980, 1983, 1993, 2007-2011 and the last two years.

This is the Phillies’ fourth straight appearance in the playoffs. They made it as a wild card in 2022 and 2023.

They will try to win their third World Series. They also captured the title in 1980 and 2008.

What’s next?

The Phillies still have 11 games left to solidify playoff position - two in Los Angeles and three at Arizona before finishing the season with six home games against the Marlins and Twins.

When do the playoffs start?

The wild card series begin on Sept. 30, but if the Phillies maintain their current pace, they won’t begin play until hosting the National League Division Series Game 1 on Oct. 4.