Phillies clinch first division title since 2011 in win over Cubs |
PHILADELPHIA—It's hard to believe that with all the recent success the Philadelphia Phillies (93-64) have had, they haven't won a division crown since the 2011 season. This is a team that not only played in the World Series in 2022 but also put together another solid run in 2023 and has had one of the game's best records this season.
Well, the wait finally came to an end at Citizen Bank Park on Monday night, as the Phillies clinched their first division crown since 2011 with a 6-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs (80-77). When you look at the lineup the Cubs put out there, mixed with the decision to go with an opener, you had a feeling it would be a long night as Aaron Nola looked to be in postseason form for what could be his final regular-season start. The big right-hander had the Cubs guessing most of the night and held them scoreless through six innings before allowing two runs in the seventh. Still, Nola earned his 13th win of the season after allowing two runs across six-plus innings to go with seven strikeouts. This was supposed to be Jordan Wicks start, but with Wicks hitting the IL, this was easy to go with an opener as Nate Pearson made the start and lasted just one inning. That is when the decision was made to use Caleb Kilian and use him as long as possible as he was called up prior to the game to fill in for the injured Jorge Lopez. The former top pitching prospect in the Cubs system, Kilian delt with a severe shoulder injury most of the season before returning in late June. Since then, he has been outstanding, but that shouldn't shock anyone, as he is another classic pitcher who pitches well in the minors but can't seem to figure it out in the majors. This wasn't a soft landing by any means for him as Kilian gave the Cubs 5 2/3 innings, but with six runs allowed, including five earned runs, his struggles at the MLB level continue. The long ball is what got to Kilian early in the game as he hasn't had the same put away stuff as he did when he debuted with the Cubs in 2022. Following a leadoff Nicholas Castellanos single to begin the second, it was the first of two long balls that followed with JT Realmuto connecting for his 14th homer of the season to put the Phillies in front for good 2-0. They would add to that lead in the fourth with Kyle Schwarber unloading for his 37th blast to start things off and drove in his 100th RBI to push the lead to 3-0. That homer was followed by a Trea Turner double to keep the Phillies offense rolling as their relentless approach was getting to Kilian. Kilian did his best to minimize the damage in that inning after walking Alec Bohm to put two on with one out, only to have Castellanos come through with an RBI single to put the Phillies in front 4-0 through three. While the Phillies offense was alive and well, it took the Cubs a little while to get rolling as Isaac Paredes and Michael Busch had the lone hits through four innings as baserunners were tough to come by. Looking to add to their lead in the bottom of the fifth, the meat of the Phillies order continued to do damage with Bryce Harper leading things off with a double. This was the only time in the game that Kilian didn't allow a run to score via a hit; instead, it was a costly Christian Bethancourt throwing error that allowed Harper to score and made this a 5-0 game. It took the Cubs six innings to put together their first real scoring chance of the game. The one-out Mike Tauchman single was followed by a Seiya Suzuki single, and the Cubs had runners at second and third, only to come away empty. Then came the seventh, and the Cubs were now trailing 6-0 after Philadelphia tacked on their final run in the bottom of the sixth, as the Cubs offense finally seemed to figure out Nola. All it took to get him on the ropes was back-to-back doubles from Paredes and Nico Hoerner to start things off, and just like that, the shutout was gone. A Pete Crow-Armstrong walk followed the Hoerner double, while a Bethancourt bunt single loaded the bases and chased Nola from the game in favor of Matt Strahm. Faced with a tough situation, Strahm managed to limit the damage as he got Patrick Wisdom to strike out ahead of a Tauchman grounder as the Cubs only managed to push home two runs in that inning, but pulled within 6-2. That was as close as they would get as the Cubs put a pair of runners on in the ninth against Carlos Estevez, but nothing came from it as the Phillies clinched the NL East 6-2. Chicago had seven hits in the loss, with Paredes leading the way with two. Along with Kilian making his first appearance of the season, you also had Gavin Hollowell make his season debut as he struck out one in his 1 1/3 scoreless frames.
