Phillies clinch NL East title in wild 10th-inning comeback against Dodgers

LOS ANGELES (AP) — J.T. Realmuto drove in the go-ahead run on a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning, capping a wild 6-5 comeback victory by the Philadelphia Phillies over the Los Angeles Dodgers that clinched the NL East title in the series opener between division leaders.

With Harrison Bader at second base to start the 10th, Kyle Schwarber lined out to second before Blake Treinen intentionally walked Bryce Harper. Bader and Harper pulled off a double steal to set up Realmuto’s sac fly to right.

The Dodgers had the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning, when Mookie Betts started at second. David Robertson intentionally walked Freddie Freeman and walked Alex Call before Max Muncy grounded out to first to end it.

Andy Pages homered off Phillies closer Jhoan Duran in the ninth to tie it 5-5.

Harper’s go-ahead home run off reliever Alex Vesia leading off the eighth put the Phillies ahead 5-4.

With the New York Mets off, the Phillies clinched their second straight division title after blowing leads of 1-0, 4-3 and 5-4. They had earned their fourth straight postseason berth on Sunday in a 10-3 loss to Kansas City.

Schwarber hit his 53rd homer against opener Anthony Banda in the first and No. 9 hitter Weston Wilson added a two-run shot off reliever Jack Dreyer in the seventh for the Phillies.

It was Schwarber’s 22nd homer against a lefty, tying Stan Musial in 1949 and Matt Olson in 2021 for the most by a lefty batter off left-handed pitchers, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

The NL West-leading Dodgers tied the game 4-4 on Mookie Betts’ homer off reliever Orion Kerkering with two outs in the seventh.

Dodgers pitcher Emmet Sheehan didn’t allow a hit over 5 2/3 innings and left with a 3-1 lead after a leadoff double to Otto Kemp in the seventh. Dreyer gave up a RBI single to Bryson Stott and Wilson followed with his 417-foot shot to center.

Max Muncy put the Dodgers in front 2-1 with a homer leading off the fifth, his first since Aug. 11.

Betts had a pair of sacrifice flies, the first tying the game 1-1 in the third and the second extending the Dodgers’ lead to 3-1 in the fifth.

Phillies starter Ranger Suárez allowed three runs and seven hits in six innings. He struck out five and walked two.

Key moment

Betts and teammate Shohei Ohtani have each reached base in 20 straight games, tying each other for the second-longest active run in the major leagues.

Key stat

Two-time MVP Harper is 12-3 in 15 games against three-time MVP Shohei Ohtani’s clubs since June 3, 2022.

Up next

Phillies LHP Cristopher Sánchez (13-5, 2.57 ERA) starts Tuesday against Dodgers RHP Shohei Ohtani (1-1, 3.75).

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB