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Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Kyle Schwarber. Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

Phillies ready to make deep run ahead of Red October

By Zachary Cariola | Last updated Sep 29, 2025 2:34 PM ET

In less than a week, the Philadelphia Phillies will find out who their opponent will be for the National League Division Series, with the Cincinnati Reds and the Los Angeles Dodgers competing to be that team.

The Phillies will be well rested and have their players relatively healthy for the Division Series, as Citizens Bank Park will be loud and packed with Phillies fans. Fan favorite and National League MVP candidate Kyle Schwarber addressed the crowd ahead of the last game of the regular season on Sunday, telling the fans in attendance, "We feed off you guys."

"Thank you guys. The Birds winning? Alright, good. Hey, first off, we want to thank all you guys. It's been a great season so far back-to-back NL East champions, we're going into Red October again. You now we feed off all you guys here. You know that the [Citizens] Bank a hard place to play, so when we come here, we start this thing off here we need to hear all you guys buying into us everything against the other team, and we're going to ride with you guys alright. We put in the work every single day we got a dream that's the hold up a trophy, and it starts here with you guys and all of us here. So thank you guys again for all the support throughout this whole year, and let's see where this takes us alright."

Philadelphia Phillies dominate at home

The Phillies are one of the best teams in baseball when playing at home. They posted a record of 55-26, while being one game over .500 on the road at 41-40.

Citizens Bank Park is one of the more hitter-friendly parks in baseball, so naturally, Phillies players will feel comfortable hitting there than on the road. Displayed in their power is hitting 122 home runs and having a slugging percentage of .469 at home versus 90 home runs away from Citizens Bank Park and a slugging percentage of .394.

Schwarber hit 33 of his 56 home runs this season at Citizens Bank Park, while having 79 of his National League-leading 132 RBI at home. Bryce Harper had a .293 batting average with a .941 OPS at home, while hitting .234 with a .760 OPS on the road. Harrison Bader, acquired at the trade deadline to lock down center field, has even taken a liking to the confines of Citizens Bank Park, hitting .275 with three home runs and a .821 OPS in 23 games.

Even the pitching has been stellar at home, with the Phillies' top three of Cristopher Sanchez, Ranger Suarez and Jesus Luzardo all pitching well. Of Sanchez’s 212 strikeouts, 115 came at home, while also posting a 1.94 ERA and six quality starts. Since his acquisition, Jhoan Duran has a 1.50 ERA and nine saves at home, while punching out 19 batters in 14.3 innings.

Los Angeles Dodgers or Cincinnati Reds will have a rough go against Philadelphia Phillies

The Dodgers or the Reds would have a rough go at it when facing the Phillies, especially in their home ballpark. The Phillies took the series against the Dodgers, 4-2, with L.A. going 1-2 at Citizens Bank Park. The Reds went 3-3 with the Phillies, and were 1-2 at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies scheduled an intersquad game for Wednesday, preparing them the best they can for what is ahead in the Division Series.

Zachary Cariola

My name is Zachary Cariola and I have been a sports fan for as long as I can remember. My areas of expertise are MLB, NBA, and NFL. You can find my other work on Southside Showdown from FanSided and at Chicitysports where I cover all Chicago sports. When not watching sports, I love spending time with my family and learning history.

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