By Evan Macy
Copyright phillyvoice
The Phillies have six games left this season, and despite being the NL East champs already there is some scoreboard watching to be done during the last week of the regular season.
Philly still needs to clinch a first-round bye, and their potential NLDS opponents are not even close to settled. Here’s a look at the current playoff scenarios and a rooting guide for fans over the next three days:
The magic number for this is two, meaning the Phils need one of the following likely outcomes to occur:
•2 Phillies wins• 2 Dodgers losses• 1 Phillies win and 1 Dodgers loss
The Phillies have a very easy tandem of series, both at home, against the Marlins and the Twins. Neither has anything to play for. Los Angeles, however, faces the Diamondbacks, who are gunning for the final NL Wild Card spot, and the Mariners, who are fighting for home-field advantage in the AL themselves.
Much less likely, but still theoretically possible, is the Phillies clinching the top record in the NL. Philadelphia trails Milwaukee by 2.5 games, with the Brewers holding that game in hand. The Brew Crew also holds the tiebreaker thanks to winning the regular season series.
In order for the Phillies to catch them, they’ll need to go 5-1 or better, with the Brewers going 1-4 or worse. It’s very much an outside chance. Milwaukee plays two games against the contending Padres before finishing against Wild card hopefuls the Reds this weekend.
That final Wild Card spot
This is interesting to the Phillies, because they’ll be facing in the NLDS — assuming they get the 2-seed — the winner of the 3-vs-6 Wild card series. Right now, it would be the Reds and Dodgers facing off, as the Reds are tied with the Mets for the final spot and hold the tiebreaker.
Here’s how things stand prior to Tuesday’s action:
Who to root for:
Marlins at Phillies: Self explanatory — the Phillies still need to nail down that first round bye.
Brewers at Padres: If the Phillies want any hope of catching the Brewers, they need the Padres to win this series. San Diego is also currently 2.5 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West. If they can keep the heat on L.A.it will force them to be less prepared for the Wild Card round.
Mets at Cubs: If Phillies fans want to see the Mets complete their collapse, they need the Cubs to win this series. The Mets present a potentially very tough NLDS match up, as they seem to have the Phillies’ number at Citi Field.
Dodgers at Diamondbacks: The Dodgers are the only team still feuding with the Phillies for the 2-seed. As we outlined, the Phillies need two L.A. losses to sew up a first-round bye. Arizona is also a game back for the last NL Wild Card spot.
Pirates at Reds: The Reds are currently the leaders by a nose for the final NL playoff spot. This race going down to the wire will benefit the Phillies, as they’ll be well rested and prepared, and the Wild Card team will be exhausted from playing meaningful games for the next week and a half prior.
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