Phillies-Diamondbacks: Schedule, tickets, and everything else you need to know

For the second straight season, the Phillies defeated the Atlanta Braves to punch their ticket to the National League Championship Series, putting them one step closer to the World Series.

The Phillies, who entered the playoffs as the National League’s top wild-card team, eliminated the Braves in four games in the divisional series behind a range of contributions, from Bryce Harper’s two message-sending home runs in Game 3 to Nick Castellanos becoming the first hitter in MLB history to have back-to-back multi-homer games in the playoffs.

Now the Phillies move on to face the Arizona Diamondbacks, who entered the playoffs as the final wild-card team. The NLCS is a best-of-seven series, so the Phillies would host the first two games at Citizens Bank Park, beginning Monday at 8:07 p.m. on TBS. Games 3 through 5 would be played at Chase Field in Phoenix, and the series would return to Philly for Games 6 and 7, if they’re necessary.

Here’s everything we know about the Phillies’ upcoming playoff schedule, announcers, and how to get tickets.

The Phillies will face the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Championship Series, which begins Monday.

Philly went 4-2 against the Diamondbacks this season, including a 15-3 blowout in June. It’s been a minute since the two teams have faced one another — their most recent game was in May at Citizens Bank Park, which the Diamondbacks took 4-3.

The Diamondbacks are in the same position the Phillies were last year, having entered the playoffs as the final wild-card team. They advanced by sweeping both the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Dodgers, and have yet to lose a playoff game this postseason.

The Diamondbacks led the league in triples this season (44) and were second in stolen bases (166), mostly thanks to 23-year-old phenom Corbin Carroll, the first rookie in MLB history to record 25 home runs and 50 stolen bases.

Here is the complete National League Championship Series schedule for Phillies vs. Diamondbacks. Times are Eastern:

* If necessary

TBS will carry the rest of the National League playoffs, with the World Series once again airing on Fox.

Calling the National League Championship Series on TBS will be Brian Anderson, who will be joined in the booth by Jeff Francoeur and Ron Darling. Matt Winer will report from both Citizens Bank Park and Chase Field in Phoenix.

The American League Division Series will air on Fox.

If you’re looking for a little Philly flair in the broadcast, you could always tune to 94.1 WIP-FM, where longtime Phillies announcer Scott Franzke will call the game alongside Larry Andersen. You can either tune in on the radio or stream it for free on the Audacy app.

Bill Kulik and Oscar Budejen will call Phillies-Diamondbacks in Spanish on La Unika 1680 AM.

If you were hoping to buy National League Championship Series tickets from the Phillies, you’re out of luck — registration for a shot to purchase tickets from the team closed Sunday.

Tickets are available on StubHub, Seat Geek, and Vivid Seats, with the cheapest seats already going for between $450 and $500 each as of Thursday night, before fees.

You can still register for a chance to purchase tickets for the World Series at Citizens Bank Park, if the Phillies defeat the Diamondbacks. If you want a shot at tickets, you’ll need to register by Sunday at 11:59 p.m.

Over in the American League, the Houston Astros will take on the Texas Rangers beginning Sunday.

The ALCS games will air on Fox, as will the World Series. Back in the booth for the second straight season is Joe Davis, who called every Phillies playoff game last season outside the World Series. Joining him will be Hall of Famer John Smoltz, in his ninth season with Fox.

Here is the complete ALCS schedule for Astros vs. Rangers:

* If necessary

There will continue to be no “ghost runners” during this year’s playoffs.

During the regular season, MLB brought back the designated runner rule, which puts a player on second base to begin each half inning if a game is tied after nine innings. The rule was an attempt to preserve pitching staffs and avoid extra-long regular season games.

But during the playoffs, that rule is out the window. So if any postseason games enter extra innings, you won’t see anyone on second base.

MLB decided to keep its pitch clock rules in place for the postseason, so fans will experience much shorter playoff games. The clock has shortened the average game time by nearly 25 minutes this season, and last year the average playoff game lasted three hours and 32 minutes.

The pitch clock will remain at 15 seconds with no runners on base, and 20 seconds with runners. MLB announced it will have neutral clock operators during the playoffs to prevent any shenanigans.