Carlos Estevez locks down the final out for the Phillies’ division-clinching win over the Cubs.
The scene was familiar, but for these players it never gets old.
"This is what I'll remember forever," Brandon Marsh said, shirtless and covered in beer.
"This group of guys. These are the moments you remember forever. It's what makes this game special. We've just got to keep the fun rolling."
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The Phillies clinched the NL East on Monday night with a 6-2 win over the Cubs, their first division title since 2011.
They've made deep runs two Octobers in a row but that was as a wild-card team. This year's group had a different path. It went 35-10 from April 5 through May 23 and the division lead never fell below five games after May 18.
"The last couple years, we've kind of not had a chance at the division," said Bryson Stott, donning a UNLV football helmet as his cover against beer and champagne. "This is huge."
The Phillies finished 14 games behind the Braves in 2023. They finished 14 games behind both the Braves and Mets in 2022. They were out of the division race by the middle of the summer.
Philadelphia Phillies
This time, they were the pace car. The slow start that hurt them the prior two seasons lasted all of one week. The Phillies struggled for a month of out of the All-Star break but responded to their worst stretch all year by winning 17 of 23 games.
"First time doing this for me with the Phillies, it's a great accomplishment for all of us, the organization from top down," Bryce Harper said.
"I've played in this division my whole career. It's the hardest division to win. There's so many good teams that have been there, so many good pitchers. It's hard to win your division, it's hard to go wire-to-wire. To be able to do that, pretty incredible."
Winning the NL East is an important step but it's just one step. The Phillies still want to secure a first-round bye (the magic number is 2) and claim home-field advantage (they trail the Dodgers by a half-game).
It wasn't lost on the longest-tenured Phillie Aaron Nola, who pitched six innings for the win, how far this team has come since he first arrived in 2015.
"It's awesome man. I've always wanted to win a division," he said. "It's been a while. We're gonna enjoy it.
"Definitely grateful to have that opportunity. Guys play a long time and never get that chance. I never take the postseason for granted because I came up a time when we really weren't close to winning. We made so many jumps and hurdles we've gotten over through the years. Where we've come from since I came to this organization to where we are now is incredible."
Nola is trending up at the right time. He's allowed three runs in 13 innings in his last two starts against the Brewers and Cubs. Zack Wheeler's allowed more than two runs once since mid-June. Cristopher Sanchez has a 2.17 ERA his last seven times out.
And now, for the first time during this era of Phillies playoff baseball, they'll be able to set up their rotation just how they want for the NLDS. It will be Wheeler in Game 1 and either Nola or Sanchez in Game 2.
"To be able to do it three years in a row, it just keeps getting better and better and better," Stott said. "And as a group we keep getting closer and closer.
"I caught myself just kinda looking around at everyone standing up. Just kinda taking it all in. You don't get this every year."
The Phillies' core has grown accustomed to the success, the crowds, the celebrations, but it's the first go-round for the man who recorded the final out, Carlos Estevez. He's been an important trade deadline pickup, elongating the Phillies' bullpen and posting a 2.25 ERA as the closer.
Estevez has been in the playoffs once before, in 2017, and faced two batters.
"The thing I really like about this group is how good they are and how humble they are," he said. "They show up, they post up every day. It doesn't matter what happens.
"It felt amazing to be out there in that situation. I wish I could do that every game from now on."
