With the Mets in town and the air a little more crisp in the second week of September, it\u2019s easy to think about the postseason.<\/p>\n
The Phillies hold an eight-game lead in the National League East, and the remainder of this four-game set could take a great deal of pressure off the Phils as October approaches with some more wins.<\/p>\n
Making the postseason is basically a given at this point, with their magic number sitting at seven, but the outlook is much bigger than simply clinching.<\/p>\n
With the recent injuries to Trea Turner and Alec Bohm, the optimal scenario is giving both former All-Stars time not only to regain rhythm, but also to get as close to full health as possible.<\/p>\n
Turner\u2019s case is especially critical. His game is built on speed, and more recovery time only bodes well for his comfort in October.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTrea Turner met with the media on Monday and talked about the hamstring injury he sustained against the Marlins and when he hopes to return.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
After Monday night\u2019s win over the Mets, he emphasized the balance he\u2019s trying to find: \u201cAs soon as possible, obviously, but more importantly for the playoffs is the most important. So trying to find that fine line of trying to get ready for that, but also not rushing it back and coming back for no reason.\u201d<\/p>\n
So how can Turner return to his do-it-all self?<\/p>\n
The Phillies can help themselves by locking in a top-two seed among National League division winners. That would give them an automatic ticket to the Division Series, bypassing the grind of a best-of-three Wild Card round.<\/p>\n
Not only would that aid Turner\u2019s recovery, it would also give a breather to a bullpen that has carried a heavy load in the second half.<\/p>\n
The Phillies currently hold a four-game lead over the NL West-leading Dodgers. Next Monday\u2019s three-game set in Los Angeles is a control-your-own-destiny opportunity for both clubs — and could be the true difference in who skips the Wild Card round.<\/p>\n
What will the postseason rotation look like?<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no debate about the first two names: Cristopher S\u00e1nchez and Ranger Su\u00e1rez will headline.<\/p>\n
From there, it gets more interesting.<\/p>\n
Jes\u00fas Luzardo seems to have earned the No. 3 spot. He leads the team in starts and wins this year, and while his postseason r\u00e9sum\u00e9 is rocky, his velocity and swing-and-miss stuff should play. His first October in 2019 with Oakland — three scoreless innings out of the bullpen in a Wild Card game — showed his potential.<\/p>\n
The question is whether the Phillies would truly run out three consecutive lefties in October against righty-heavy lineups like Milwaukee or San Diego.<\/p>\n
That makes the fourth spot even more intriguing.<\/p>\n
Aaron Nola\u2019s Monday night gem against the Mets was his first scoreless outing since May. It reminded fans what he can still bring, even in a season marked by injuries and inconsistency. His 10 postseason starts and 4.02 ERA make him a trusted option in October.<\/p>\n
Beyond that, there are situational options. <\/p>\n
A bullpen game could work if the Phils are up in a series. <\/p>\n
Taijuan Walker looks more likely to serve as a long reliever. <\/p>\n
And the long shot? Walker Buehler. His 2025 regular season has been rocky, but his 3.04 career postseason ERA over 19 appearances speaks for itself. Dave Dombrowski brought him in for this kind of stage.<\/p>\n
The lineup picture<\/p>\n
If Turner and Bohm return, the lineup sets itself. If not, Rob Thomson has shown he\u2019s willing to experiment.<\/p>\n
Bryce Harper led off Monday night, and Harrison Bader is hitting first Tuesday. If Turner can\u2019t go, Bader could be an option against lefties — and his October history makes that intriguing.<\/p>\n
The Bronxville, New York native carried the Yankees in 2022 with five homers in nine games, proving he can step up.<\/p>\n
The rest of the outfield mix is battle-tested. Max Kepler, Brandon Marsh and Nick Castellanos are all in rotation, but Castellanos is the one to watch. <\/p>\n
He\u2019s been vocal and mature about the playing-time shuffle, and he\u2019s delivered when it matters. You have to love this season’s storyline too.<\/p>\n
After struggling in the 2022 postseason, he\u2019s posted an .898 OPS in his last 17 playoff games. <\/p>\n
He has to be out there.<\/p>\n
The bottom line<\/p>\n
It\u2019s early, but not too early. October is 22 days away.<\/p>\n
Some say the Phillies\u2019 championship window is closing. Without Zack Wheeler, the road ahead is tough — but history shows teams can win without their ace.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s baseball. Anything can happen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the Mets in town and the air a little more crisp in the second week of September,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":304252,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2288],"tags":[5,2328,2304,4,2305,2303,11036,32373],"class_list":{"0":"post-304251","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb-postseason","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-major-league-baseball-playoffs","10":"tag-major-league-baseball-postseason","11":"tag-mlb","12":"tag-mlb-playoffs","13":"tag-mlb-postseason","14":"tag-phillies-analysis","15":"tag-phillies-blog"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/115176631511823227","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=304251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/304251\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/304252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=304251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=304251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=304251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}