| Philadelphia Phillies | 2 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 1 |
 |
| 2026 Topps Heritage #300 |
Chase Field - Phoenix, AZ
78-60, 2nd Place, 4 games behind the Braves
78-60, 2nd Place, 4 games behind the Braves
One Sentence Summary: Aaron Nola, the bullpen and a long home run from Bryson Stott contributed to this 2-1 series opening win over the Diamondbacks.
What It Means: The Phillies were the best team in baseball during the month of August with a 21-7 record. They're tied with the Cubs for the top Wild Card spot with a 5 1/2 game lead overall in the Wild Card race. These games against the Diamondbacks are a good test, but the real challenge starts next week when seven of their next 10 games are against the first place Braves.
What Happened: Nola went five innings, allowing a run on five hits and two walks while striking out four. Interim manger Don Mattingly used almost all of his bullpen to cobble together four scoreless innings with Alex McFarlane, Orion Kerkering, Brooks Raley, Jose Alvarado and Jhoan Duran all getting a turn. There was a lot of traffic, but each of the relievers worked out of jams. Duran stranded runners at first and third in the ninth, recording his 29th save.
What It Means: The Phillies were the best team in baseball during the month of August with a 21-7 record. They're tied with the Cubs for the top Wild Card spot with a 5 1/2 game lead overall in the Wild Card race. These games against the Diamondbacks are a good test, but the real challenge starts next week when seven of their next 10 games are against the first place Braves.
What Happened: Nola went five innings, allowing a run on five hits and two walks while striking out four. Interim manger Don Mattingly used almost all of his bullpen to cobble together four scoreless innings with Alex McFarlane, Orion Kerkering, Brooks Raley, Jose Alvarado and Jhoan Duran all getting a turn. There was a lot of traffic, but each of the relievers worked out of jams. Duran stranded runners at first and third in the ninth, recording his 29th save.
Stott hit the longest home run of his career in the second at 464 feet. In the third, Garrett Stubbs led off with a single, went to second when Kyle Schwarber walked and scored on a Bryce Harper double. Harper led the team with a 1.069 OPS in August, batting .333 (32 for 96) with eight doubles, five home runs and 14 RBIs.
Featured Card: The last game summary to feature a Kerkering card was the disastrous NLDS Game 4 from last season, and it's nice to see the reliever seemingly getting back on track this season.
Transaction: Tommy Pham (of) was dealt to the Chicago White Sox for cash considerations. In 44 games with the IronPigs, Pham batted .250 with three home runs and 25 RBIs.
Featured Card: The last game summary to feature a Kerkering card was the disastrous NLDS Game 4 from last season, and it's nice to see the reliever seemingly getting back on track this season.
Transaction: Tommy Pham (of) was dealt to the Chicago White Sox for cash considerations. In 44 games with the IronPigs, Pham batted .250 with three home runs and 25 RBIs.