Welp, the Phillies couldn't sustain their momentum against a desperate Diamondbacks team. The Diamondbacks are certainly a tough, competitive bunch. I could sense them lock in as a team on Saturday when the Phillies were threatening in the back and forth, tightly contested game. When the Diamondbacks had a mound visit with Zac Gallen and the whole infield during a crucial moment, I feel like I could truly sense them all collectively put on their game faces. This series is really their whole season, while the Phillies are kind of coasting to the finish line. Quite an intriguing, noticeable vibe difference for these teams in the series. Starting pitcher Zac Gallen had a really good outing for the Diamondbacks.
Then on Sunday the series finale really wasn't close as the Diamondbacks dominated. Corbin Carroll played like the All-Star he is, hitting a three-run homer, a double, and four RBI. Carroll officially joins the 30-30 club and also became the second player in MLB history to record 30 homers, 30 stolen bases, 30 doubles and 15 triples in a season. I wouldn't normally be overly eager to drop stats about non-Phillies players but the first, and only other player ever to record that stat line in a season was Phillies legend Jimmy Rollins who did so in 2007. That was a tremendous year for sure. What are the odds Carroll achieves this against the Phillies? So yeah Carroll is a really good player and those stats kind of make me respect Carroll more to have done something only J-Roll has done, and that I've seen it. I'm getting old HA.
Tonight, the Phillies begin their penultimate series of 2025 against the Miami Marlins at home. In fact all six of the final Phillies' games are at home, pretty awesome luck! Plus, the first playoff series will have home field advantage as long as the Phillies don't collapse all of a sudden.
The Phillies magic number to clinch the #2 seed is 2. With six games left, I think the odds are very much in the Phillies' favor.
National League 2025 – Race for the #2 Seed as of 9/23/25
| Team | Record |
|---|---|
| Phillies | 92–64 |
| Dodgers | 88–68 |
Interestingly though, the Marlins have a slim but relatively new chance at the playoffs. It's unlikely they'll make it but intriguing to say the least. The Marlins are 9-1 in their last ten! The Mets have been struggling mightily at the worst time actually lost their playoff positioning to the Reds at this point. The Mets and Reds share the same record but yeah, these final six games are enormous.
The Marlins are four games back in the NL Wild Card race. With six games left, odds aren't great but I'm sure the Marlins will still give it their all.
Cristopher Sánchez seeks his 14th win of 2025 for the Phillies.
September baseball is looking as crazy as usual. October in Citizens Bank Park is going to be epic as usual!!
