Phillies clinch a first-round playoff bye after beating the Cubs and a Brewers loss

The next time the Phillies take the field at Citizens Bank Park, it’ll be in Red October for the National League Division Series.

The team with the best home record in Major League Baseball went out with a bang in its last home series of the regular season on Wednesday. The Phillies beat the Cubs, 9-6, and secured a first-round playoff bye on the same night.

Across the Keystone State, the Pittsburgh Pirates hung on to beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 2-1, to clinch a bye for the Phillies in the wild-card round next week.

“We got a couple more games in Washington to kind of tune up some stuff, just sharpen the knife a little bit,” outfielder Brandon Marsh said. “But we’re all excited. We worked our butts off for this moment. And we’re gonna make the best of it.”

Manager Rob Thomson said he expects to give most of his starters at least a day off during the last series against the Nationals now that the bye is official. Bryce Harper, who has been playing through an irritated right elbow and sore wrist, will be one player who could benefit from that the extra rest, though Thomson said he also wants to keep his swing going.

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The Phillies offense exploded for 13 hits and three homers on Wednesday, with eight starters recording at least one hit. They struck early with a three-run first inning. Trea Turner got things started with a solo home run, crushing a cutter to the left-field seats. Harper drew a walk, and then back-to-back doubles from Nick Castellanos and Bryson Stott plated two more.

Starting pitcher Cristopher Sánchez had allowed a career-high five walks in his previous outing against the Mets last week. Sánchez was able to limit the walks against the Cubs, issuing just one in the fifth inning. But Chicago made some solid contact against him, including a three-run homer from Nico Hoerner in the fourth. Sánchez’s infielders also committed two errors, leading to one unearned run and a high pitch count.

“They put some good bats on him,” Thomson said. “A lot of foul balls, which drove his pitch count up. But I thought his changeup was really good. First-pitch strikes, I’d like to see be a little bit better, but strike-to-ball ratio overall was really good. This kid has had a heck of a regular season. He really has. He’s been a huge part of this.”

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Sánchez left his last start of the regular season after 4⅔ innings and 94 pitches to a standing ovation from the home crowd. The 27-year-old pitched 181⅔ innings this year, a higher workload at the major league level than his previous three seasons combined.

“It’s just a part of all the hard work that we’ve been doing here throughout the offseason and during the season,” Sánchez said through a team interpreter. “I think that I’ve gotten better through the years, and I hope to keep it that way. … This is not over yet. We got our sights set on the World Series, and we’ll just keep working.”

The Phillies offense stayed hot, and was able to pick up both its pitcher and its fielding. Castellanos, who finished a triple shy of the cycle, hit a homer in the third inning, and Kody Clemens notched a solo shot of his own in the fourth.

In the fifth inning, the Phillies strung together singles from Castellanos, Stott, and a walk to J.T. Realmuto to load the bases. Marsh capitalized on a cutter left over the plate for a three-run double.

The Cubs added another run in the sixth with Hoerner’s second homer of the game. This time, it came off José Ruiz, and was the first home run the reliever has allowed since an Aug. 25 game against Kansas City. Chicago scored another in the ninth with a single and a double off Carlos Estévez, but Austin Hays made a sliding catch in left field to secure the final out of the game.

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“The velo was down a little bit early in the early in the inning, and I think [Estévez is] probably missing the slider a little bit,” Thomson said.

With the Phillies having done their part, many fans remained in the ballpark to watch the last out of the game in Pittsburgh play out on the big screen. Marsh joined them.

“It’s a huge moment for us,” he said. “For our pitchers, getting that first-round bye and getting their own little break and ready to go for it in October. These are moments that we dream about. This is huge. And we couldn’t ask for any more.”