When Will Philadelphia Phillies Clinch NL East?

The Philadelphia Phillies are close, but the New York Mets are still alive.

Sep 20, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Jeff Hoffman and catcher J.T. Realmuto celebrate. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

After a disappointing road trip for the Philadelphia Phillies, the NL East is still up for grabs heading into the final week of the regular season.

The first-place Phillies clinched a playoff spot with their 12-2 rout of the second-place New York Mets on Friday night, but failed to lock up the division over the weekend. A win over the Mets on either Saturday or Sunday would have secured Philadelphia's first NL East flag since 2011, but the Phillies lost both.

After back-to-back losses at Citi Field, their magic number remains stuck at two. Philadelphia has a five-game lead over New York with six games to go, so the earliest it can clinch is Tuesday.

A few clinching scenarios are in play for the Phillies, who can take the NL East with two wins in their final six games. They'll also win the division if the Mets lose two of their final six games, or if Philadelphia wins one and New York loses one.

The only situation where the Phillies wouldn't win the division is if they go 0-6 to close the year and the Mets go 6-0, in which case New York would surge past Philadelphia in the standings and win the NL East by a single game.

That scenario is highly unlikely, of course, but it wouldn't even be possible had the Phillies taken care of business against the Mets last week.

Every Phillies fan should be livid. Going 2-5 on a road trip and failing to clinch a divison needing just one win is inexcusable.

— i hate philly sports (@phillyowned) September 23, 2024

Instead, they lost three of four after dropping two of three to the Milwaukee Brewers, going 2-5 on their road trip and losing consecutive series for the first time since their massive funk in late July and early August.

Philadelphia had its chances, especially in the series finale on Sunday Night Baseball.

Zack Wheeler pitched a gem for the Phillies, tossing seven innings of two-run ball while striking out eight. Unfortunately, Philadelphia squandered it by managing just one run on five hits, going 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and striking out 12 times.

The Phillies return home for a three-game series against the Chicago Cubs, who have been one of the hottest teams in baseball over the last two months. With the Mets off on Monday before a three-game series with the Atlanta Braves, the earliest Philadelphia can clinch is Tuesday.

The Phillies are hoping they can win the division at home, celebrate in front of their fans and start resting up for October. If they don't, they'll try to clinch on the road in their final series of the season against the Washington Nationals, who haven't had much success against Philadelphia lately.