Sep 27, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto (10) looks out to the crowd during the first inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: James A. Pittman-Imagn Images
The top four seeds in the National League postseason bracket are now set:
(1) Dodgers
(2) Phillies
(3) Brewers
(4) Padres
The (5) and (6) seeds may be any combination of the Mets, Braves, and Diamondbacks. One team will be out of luck.
The Phillies will have home field advantage over every potential NL opponent other than the Dodgers. They've also secured home field advantage over every potential World Series other than the Yankees, with home field against the Yankees still in play.
It's curtains for the Phils on this front. The Dodgers will have home field advantage over the Phillies if the two teams meet in the NLCS.
The Phillies could secure home field advantage over any potential World Series opponent with a win over the Nationals on Sunday OR a Yankees loss vs Pittsburgh. The Phils have already locked up home field advantage over any other AL team. If the Phillies and Yankees finish with the same number of wins, the Yankees own the tiebreaker.
Prediction: The Phillies will salvage one game in DC behind Aaron Nola, finish the season with 95 wins, and secure home field advantage for the World Series.
The Phillies will play one of the following teams: Brewers, Mets, Braves, or Diamondbacks.
While the Phillies and Brewers are locked into their seeds, the Brewers opponent (the (6) seed) is still unknown.
The Mets have 87 wins with 3 potential games remaining (@ MIL, @ ATL, @ ATL).
The Braves have 88 wins with 3 potential games remaining (vs KC, vs NYM, vs NYM).
The Diamondbacks have 88 wins with 1 game remaining (vs SD).
The Diamondbacks would lose a tiebreaker to the Mets or Braves (or to both, if the teams end in a three-way tie). The tiebreaker advantage between the Mets and Braves is still up in the air, as the Braves currently lead their head-to-head season series 6-5.
The Braves and Mets will play a doubleheader on Monday only if the games remain relevant for postseason purposes. They will play only one game on Monday if the first game ties up loose ends.
If the postseason started today, the bracket would look like this:
Prediction: Mets somehow Met themselves out of a postseason spot. Seeding ends up (5) Braves, (6) Diamondbacks. At (2), Phillies get winner of Brewers/Diamondbacks in the NLDS.
