The Phillies have clinched a first-round bye and will enter the playoffs as no worse than the National League's No. 2 seed.

The Phillies were already playing without Bryce Harper, who was out with an illness. In addition, shortstop Trea Turner (hamstring) and Edmundo Sosa (groin) are still on the injured list, although Sosa is expected to be activated on Sept. 24.

Behind a franchise-record eight homers, including three from Edmundo Sosa and two by Kyle Schwarber, the Phillies clinched a coveted bye.

The Philadelphia Phillies enter the home stretch of their playoff run with only one game remaining before they clinch the first-round bye they desperately need.

A team's magic number represents the combination of wins needed by that team and losses by its closest competitor to clinch a given goal. Every time a team wins, its magic number decreases by one. Similarly, every time that team's closest competitor for the division (or Wild Card) loses, the magic number also decreases by one.

In the Marlins and Twins, the Phils’ final week should be a nice, soft landing heading into the postseason, an opportunity to clinch that bye and learn some things about a few players who are likely to play a major role in the Phils’ quest to win that World Series trophy that has eluded them so deftly these last three years.

The Phillies superstar stated in his postgame press conference Sunday that he is looking forward to getting a bye and some rest and said that it’s “nonsense” to complain about having some time off.

For the Phillies, they're hoping to do it with Cristopher Sanchez on the mound. Sanchez has been the Phillies' best pitcher ever since Zack Wheeler was lost for the season. Sanchez is 13-5 with a 2.