The Philadelphia Phillies have finally clinched their spot in the 2026 Major League Baseball postseason with a Game 162 win on Sunday after a week that saw their playoff odds drop precipitously amid their slump and the Diamondbacks' surge. This marks the fifth straight year in which the Phillies have secured a playoff berth and their sixth straight winning season. The Phillies put up a valiant attempt to seize the NL East crown, but were unable to catch the Atlanta Braves and will settle instead for a wild-card berth.
The story for the Phillies in 2026 has been their surge since Don Mattingly took over as interim manager. The club dismissed Rob Thomson in late April after a 9-19 start to the season. Under Mattingly, however, the Phillies enjoyed greatly improved fortunes, as they went 79-55.
Even so, Mattingly's future with the team is uncertain, as there's no guarantee he'll be given the permanent post as Phillies manager. No doubt, a deep October run would greatly aid his cause. Speaking of a deep run, the Phillies have come up short in each of the last two NLDS rounds.
In 2023, they fell in seven games to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS, and the year before that, they won the pennant and lost in six games to the Houston Astros in the World Series. Overall, the Phillies haven't won the World Series since 2008. Despite being one of the oldest franchises in MLB, they've won the World Series just twice.
They'll be looking to add to that tally in this postseason, so let's briefly explore why the Phillies might be able to do just that. It's not exactly elusive knowledge that having multiple ace-quality starting pitchers in the rotation improves a team's chances once the calendar flips to October. Speaking of which, the 2026 Phillies may have the best 1-2-3 punch in all of baseball.
Lefty ace Cristopher Sánchez leads all pitchers in WAR this season, and he's headed for a lofty finish in the NL Cy Young vote. Fellow lefty Jesús Luzardo boasts a sub-3.00 ERA and a sub-3.00 FIP, just like Sánchez, and he presently ranks fourth in MLB in strikeouts. Finally, long–time ace Zack Wheeler has enjoyed a sparkling comeback season in 2026 after suffering from thoracic outlet syndrome.
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