With 25 games to go in their season, the Philadelphia Phillies are well on their way to a fifth straight playoff appearance.

Ahead of their upcoming series with the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Phillies are tied with the Chicago Cubs for the fourth seed in Major League Baseball’s playoff format. Technically the team holds the fifth spot, as Chicago owns the tiebreaker (head-to-head record).

Their opponent this week, the Diamondbacks, has crawled back into the postseason picture themselves. Arizona surpassed their division rivals, the San Diego Padres, for the final playoff spot. 

Philadelphia is 4.5 games ahead of Arizona, but a sweep by the Diamondbacks could make the playoff picture very interesting. On the other hand, a sweep by the Phillies could launch San Diego back into the playoff mix while leapfrogging the Cubs. 

A lot can change between now and Wednesday evening.

Phillies stay hot; Braves stay hotter

After Sunday’s victory in Anaheim, the Phillies carry a four-game win streak into play Monday night.

The Phillies are 20-7 in the month of August, holding the best record in baseball. It is by far their best month of the season and has launched them comfortably into the playoff picture.

It has even put them back into the race for the National League East with the Atlanta Braves, who enter Monday five games ahead of the Phillies. Atlanta has won seven straight games.

These two teams will meet in Philadelphia on Friday, starting a four-game series that could potentially end the division race. If the Phillies are to get back in the hunt, they need to take at least three from their division rivals.

Losing the series would make it very difficult for the Phillies to overcome, regardless of their series with the Diamondbacks. Atlanta currently needs to win two more of the team’s final seven matchups to win the season series. This would secure the tiebreaker, which would give them an additional game’s advantage in the race.

Diamondbacks

At the time of this writing, the Arizona Diamondbacks have yet to announce their starters for the series against the Phillies.

The club had a rare Sunday off but played a doubleheader against the San Francisco Giants on Saturday. 

Eduardo Rodriguez is expected to pitch in one of the first two games of the series. A 2026 All-Star, Rodriguez is having a resurgent season in the desert, pitching to a 14-4 record and 2.50 earned run average.

On Monday, the Phillies will send veteran Aaron Nola to the mound. In his last seven starts, Nola has pitched to a 3.38 earned run average and has become a key contributor for the Phillies once again.

Tuesday will see the Phillies send Jesus Luzardo to the mound in hopes of either winning or tying the series. Luzardo has been the club’s best pitcher over the past two months, launching himself into the National League Cy Young Award race. Luzardo has lowered his season earned run average to 3.09 and surpassed 200 strikeouts for the year in his last outing.

On Wednesday, the Phillies will hand Andrew Painter his biggest test as a rookie. With seeding on the line, the Phillies will ask their rookie to battle a playoff-caliber lineup. Painter has looked solid since his return from Triple-A and has surpassed six innings in each of his last two starts.

Note: All-Star second baseman Ketel Marte has been activated and will play his first game since August 16th.