Tuesday's Phillies lineup isn't indicative of what the team will roll with to open the postseason, but a day after the team clinched their first NL East title since 2011, Rob Thomson certainly didn't go with a hangover lineup either for the second game against the Chicago Cubs.
It’s not really a hangover lineup, but Garrett Stubbs is playing.
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The Phillies are still hoping to secure one of the two first-round byes in the National League playoffs. As noted by Destiny Lugardo of Phillies Nation, they could do that as early as tonight. If the Phillies beat the Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers lose to the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Phillies will clinch one of the top two seeds in the NL playoffs.
Obviously, they hope to get the No. 1 seed, which would come with home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs and potentially into the World Series depending upon if the Phillies finish with more wins than the New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians. Currently, the Phillies are the No. 2 seed in the NL at 93-64. They are a half game back of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are 93-63. If the Phillies finish with the same record as the Dodgers, they own the tiebreaker by virtue of going 5-1 against the Dodgers in the regular season.
Suffice to say, there's still plenty to play for, which is why the Phillies aren't running out a Triple-A lineup a night after clinching the division.
"We still have a carrot out there," Thomson said. "We gotta do everything we can to get a bye."
Thomson has said the Phillies aren't going to put players in any danger in their quest to get the No. 1 seed in the NL, but assured the media before Monday's game that they will be putting their best foot forward to try to get the top spot.
"I think if it comes down to the end, sure," Thomson said. "But if we're separated by a few games then, you know, be smart about it."
Kody Clemens griddy in a pool of beer.
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Beyond seeding, the Phillies still need to figure out what the bottom of their roster will look like in the first round of the postseason, which will likely be the best-of-five NLDS. Currently, the Phillies have 28 men on their expanded September roster. They will have to trim that down to 26 for the playoffs. The maximum number of pitchers teams can carry in the postseason is 13. The Phillies may opt to go with 14 position players and 12 pitchers in the NLDS, before going back to 13 and 13 in the best-of-seven NLCS, should they make it there. In any event, there are a few players worth monitoring.
- OF Austin Hays: Activated from the 10-day injured list after his bout with a kidney infection, Hays is starting in left field for the Phillies Tuesday. Barring a setback in health, he's almost certainly going to be on the postseason roster in some form. However, he's got a .648 OPS in 19 games with the Phillies. So if he fancies himself the every day left fielder in the postseason, or something close to that, it would help his case to show he's healthy and can be productive during the final days of the regular season.
- Taijuan Walker: Tanner Banks will open for the Phillies Tuesday, but there's a good chance Walker makes an appearance at some point. He's got a 6.91 ERA in 82 innings this season, but Tyler Phillips, Kolby Allard and Seth Johnson failed to patch the No. 5 spot when given the chance. The Phillies obviously won't use a fifth starter in the playoffs, but Walker might be on the roster as the mop up guy. Teams like to carry one pitcher who can come in and eat innings if, say, the starter gives up 10 runs in the first inning and that game is a lost cause that you don't want to burn your bullpen in.
- Kody Clemens/Weston Wilson: Right now, these appear to be the final two bench pieces for the NLDS, assuming the Phillies do intend to carry 14 position players. However, other options like Cal Stevenson — who was optioned to the Spring Training complex to create roster spot for Hays — and Buddy Kennedy are still in the mix. They will have been down for 10 days by the time the NLDS starts. Beyond that, Clemens and Wilson are competing potentially with each other for the final spot on the NLCS roster, should the Phillies get there are go to 13 pitchers with 13 position players in the longer series.
