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Well the Phillies have looked excellent the past two days out in Los Angeles. They won both games in dramatic fashion and the whole lineup seems to be contributing. September is proving to be a strong month for them offensively, perhaps their strongest if they stay this dominant at the plate.

This series has been really epic though, at least from a Phillies fans' perspective. Monday's first tightly contested see-saw of a game will probably go down as a classic especially since it was a division clinching game for the Phillies. Nobody could hold a lead for long and it took an extra inning to decide. J.T. Realmuto's sacrifice fly in the top of the 10th proved to be the difference. Schwarber homered for the 53rd time early in the game, what else is new? Weston Wilson hit a super clutch one in the seventh to take a 4-3 lead, that was Wilson's 5th. Harper then his a massive one AGAIN in the eighth, that was Harpers' 27th. The Dodgers were also very much a part of the home run party throughout with Max Muncy, Mookie Betts, and Andy Pages hitting key homers themselves but the Phillies proved to be the victor and became NL East champs, on the west coast. 9/15/25

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Tuesday only proved to be just as dramatic as the boys had to survive a 5 inning no-hit performance by the legendary Shohei Ohtani on the mound, AND a four run deficit. Ohtani was purposely meant to pitch just five innings and even though Ohtani had a great pitch count and had a no-hitter the Dodgers still took him out. As soon as the Dodgers did, the Phillies immediately went to work. In the final four innings of this game the Phillies recorded eight hits and nine runs to win the game.

Bryce Harper got the party started with a super clutch two-run double with the bases loaded in the sixth. BRANDON THE MAN MARSH then hit's a monstrous three-run homer to take a one run lead! BOSS moment by Marsh. It was Marsh's 11th. Kepler then hit his 17th later in the inning.

The Dodgers answered back and tied the game in the eighth. But then in the top of the ninth with two outs, Weston Wilson hit a clutch double to keep hope alive and not have to go to extras. Bryson Stott was intentionally walked so now things are getting spicy. Backup catcher Rafael Marchán smoked a line drive homer perhaps unlike any I've ever seen before. The ball was hit super low and managed to not only find the shortest part of the fence in right field, but it was like a half inch away from smacking a wall to the left and staying in the yard, unbelievable. Either way the Phillies would have taken the lead though but the homer is even better. Biggest hit of Marchán's career for sure! It was Marchán's 2nd homer of the season.

That three run lead proved more than enough as Jhoan Durán came in and grabbed the save with ease and sealed the huge win for the Phillies.

Pretty memorable September so far! That win makes the Phillies' magic number 4 to clinch the second seed bye and avoid a Wild Card matchup. The Cubs and Dodgers have the closest semi-realistic shot at catching the Phillies and the Phillies themselves still have a reasonable chance at getting the #1 seed as they are 1.5 games behind the Brewers for the best record not only the National league, but in the MLB as well. Which is more valuable since that could grant them World Series home field advantage if they were to get there.

The Phillies have 10 games left with a really excellent 91-61 record. The boys feel like they're rolling now even with Trea Turner and Alec Bohm out. They seem to have patched up the bullpen the best they can with Durán and perhaps Buehler, they've looked much improved overall. Wheeler is out, Alvarado will be out for the playoffs, Nola has looked rough but the team still looks ready and focused.

Even though the Phillies secured the NL East for second consecutive season, the boys still have a lot to play for. They could still get 100 wins if they play well enough!

Jesús Luzardo seeks his 15th win of 2025. That would be a really awesome milestone for Luzardo. 15 is not only a great number but, before 2025 Luzardo's highest win total of his career was 10.

Let's see if the boys can sweep the 2024 World Series Champs in mid September in LA!

#GOPHILLIES