Castellanos homers as the Phillies beat the Cubs 9-6 and clinch first-round bye in playoffs

 

[September 26, 2024]  By AARON BRACY

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Nick Castellanos, Trea Turner and Kody Clemens homered, and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Chicago Cubs 9-6 on Wednesday night and clinched a first-round bye in the playoffs.

Castellanos had three hits and scored three times. Bryson Stott also had three hits and Brandon Marsh drove in three runs for the Phillies, who claimed their first NL East title in 13 years on Monday night.

Coupled with Milwaukee’s 2-1 loss to Pittsburgh, Philadelphia secured the bye and home-field advantage in the NLDS. The Phillies owned the tiebreaker with the Brewers after winning the season series against the NL Central champions.

Philadelphia will host Game 1 of the NLDS on Oct. 5.

“We just have to take it one step at a time and take care of business,” Marsh said. “There's nothing like it. This is why we show up. This is the stuff we dream about.”

Nico Hoerner homered twice for Chicago, and Isaac Paredes hit four singles. The Cubs lost two of three in the series to finish with a 39-42 road record.

Philadelphia closed out the home portion of its regular season with a 54-27 mark, though one of the home games was a loss to the Mets in London. A crowd of 42,438 was on hand for the 47th sellout of the season, running the home attendance at Citizens Bank Park to 3,308,638 on the year.

The Phillies finish with three games at Washington, beginning on Friday. Philadelphia can clinch home-field advantage through the NL Championship Series by ending the season tied with or ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Manager Rob Thomson said he will sub some of the regulars in the final three contests.

“I think it's huge to get these guys some rest,” he said.

Turner put Philadelphia in front with a one-out solo shot in the first. Stott added a two-run double against Javier Assad (7-6), lifting the Phillies to an early 3-0 lead.

Castellanos added another solo shot in the third, but Hoerner responded with a three-run shot off Cristopher Sánchez in the fourth.

Philadelphia Phillies' Brandon Marsh, right, is doused by Bryson Stott after the Phillies won a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Marsh gave Philadelphia an 8-4 lead with a three-run double off Keegan Thompson in the fifth. All three runs were charged to Assad, who surrendered eight hits in 4 1/3 innings.

“We got into a jam in the fifth, and they got a big hit,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.

Sánchez was charged with four runs, three earned, and five hits in 4 2/3 innings. José Ruiz (5-1) got four outs for the win.

Kevin Alcántara, one of Chicago's top prospects, started in right field and singled in the ninth for his first major league hit.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cubs: 1B Michael Busch (right triceps contusion) was not in the lineup, one night after being hit by a pitch in the second. ... OF Seiya Suzuki (ankle) also was sidelined after getting injured running the bases on Tuesday night.

Phillies: Austin Hays started in left field for the second straight day after returning Monday from a stint on the injured list since Sept. 1 due to a kidney infection. He went 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

UP NEXT

Cubs: Following an off day, RHP Jameson Taillon (11-8, 3.41 ERA) starts on Friday against Cincinnati in the opener of a three-game home series.

Phillies: LHP Ranger Suárez (12-7, 3.15 ERA) starts on Friday against the Nationals.

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