One night after earning their first National League East title since 2011, the Philadelphia Phillies hope to carry over the celebration into their Tuesday contest against the visiting Chicago Cubs.
The Phillies (93-64) clinched the division crown on Monday with a 6-2 win over the Cubs (80-77). Philadelphia was coming off a 2-5 road trip against the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Mets that delayed sealing the division title, but that disappointment didn’t linger into Monday.
Aaron Nola pitched into the seventh inning and Philadelphia received early home runs from J.T. Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber. Carlos Estevez recorded the final three outs to ignite a subdued celebration on the field that quickly turned into a raucous party in the locker room.
“We had some chances on the road to do it, but honestly it really feels nice to do it at home,” Nola said.
As a veteran team, the Phillies could opt to rest some of their older players down the stretch. However, they are also in a neck-and-neck battle with the Los Angeles Dodgers (93-63) for the best record in the National League, so they likely will be incentivized to compete for every win over the final five games.
“It’s just another step in what our ultimate goal is going to be this season, which is to win the World Series,” Realmuto said.
The Phillies have two games remaining at Citizens Bank Park, where they own the best home record in baseball (53-26).
“I saw a couple of guys looking around the stadium and taking it all in,” second baseman Bryson Stott said.
Philadelphia will give the ball to reliever Tanner Banks (2-2, 3.78 ERA) to open the Tuesday game, and likely that the team will go through a variety of pitchers. Former fifth starters Kolby Allard and Taijuan Walker are among those who could see action.
Banks has a 5.40 ERA in three career appearances vs. Chicago. In his lone outing against the Cubs this year, he gave up two runs on two hits while getting just one out for the Chicago White Sox on June 4.
Justin Steele (5-5, 3.03 ERA) will get the nod for the Cubs in his second start since missing about three weeks due to elbow tendinitis. He lasted just 2 2/3 innings in his return to the mound Wednesday against the Oakland Athletics, yielding two hits and three walks in a scoreless effort before getting pulled after 57 pitches.
Steele was generally positive about the performance.
“It felt really good out there,” he said. “Felt good to be back out there feeling the jitters and stuff again. Main thing, felt healthy, felt really good out there.”
Steele has made two lifetime starts against Philadelphia, allowing only one run in two starts (11 innings). However, he certainly will keep a close eye on Nick Castellanos, who is 6-for-14 with a homer against the 29-year-old lefty.
At a higher level, the Cubs know they need to be more consistent if they are going to compete with the NL Central champion Brewers year in, year out.
“I mean, listen, the standings don’t lie. You are what you are,” Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said. “And I think when you look at the standings, there’s a big gap in the standings. There’s a big gap to the rest of the division.”
–Field Level Media
