This story was originally published by Dead Spin
After 13 years, the Philadelphia Phillies will need to wait at least one more day to celebrate.
The Phillies will try once again to clinch their first National League East Division title since 2011 when they open a three-game series against the visiting Chicago Cubs on Monday.
Philadelphia (92-64) holds a magic number of one to secure the NL East crown. The Phillies could have clinched Saturday or Sunday with a win over the second-place New York Mets, but they absorbed a 6-3 defeat on Saturday and a 2-1 setback on Sunday.
“It’s disappointing, but at the end of the day, we can go home and win this thing in front of our own fans,” Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler said after Sunday’s loss. “Start playing a little better once we get home and just try to win these next couple series and just go into the playoffs hot. Turn the page. It’s not the end of the world.”
The Phillies will now turn to Aaron Nola (12-8, 3.54 ERA), who bounced back in his latest outing after two subpar performances. The veteran right-hander held the Milwaukee Brewers to one run and three hits in seven innings on Wednesday, striking out nine in a no-decision.
“Everything felt good,” Nola said. “My command was pretty good. I felt like I was getting early outs. I went deep in a game. I feel like it’s been a while.”
Historically, Nola has terrific numbers against the three Cubs who have faced him the most. Dansby Swanson is a career .233 hitter vs. Nola, while Cody Bellinger is only 3-for-19 with eight strikeouts against him. The most staggering of all is Ian Happ, who has never gotten a hit in 15 career at-bats against the 31-year-old righty. Nola is 6-2 with a 4.69 ERA in nine career starts against Chicago.
The Cubs’ offense didn’t need much on Sunday, but Mike Tauchman, Michael Busch and Miguel Amaya each homered for Chicago in a 5-0 win over the Washington Nationals. Shota Imanaga was the primary star for the hosts, pitching seven crisp innings for his sixth consecutive win.
“We played a good all-around game,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.
Nate Pearson (2-2, 4.71) will get the nod for the Cubs (80-76) on Monday, as the 28-year-old righty makes his first start since 2021. He has started on the mound five times in 109 career appearances.
Pearson certainly will be aiming to quiet Nick Castellanos and Trea Turner, each of whom registered two hits in Sunday’s contest. Castellanos collected seven hits in the four-game set with New York, while Turner has hit safely in seven of his past eight outings.
The Cubs have been somewhat coy regarding their starting pitchers (and general plans) for the final week of the season. Despite his team having been eliminated from playoff contention, Counsell has preferred to reveal the minimum while still saying all the right things.
“Nothing changes,” Counsell said before the game Sunday. “You just go out and you play the game and you respect the game, and you respect your teammates and that’s it. That’s what you do.”
The Phillies took two of three at Wrigley Field in early July, posting a pair of close victories before the Cubs countered with a 10-2 blowout.
–Field Level Media
