Philadelphia Phillies: Magic number, postseason possibilities explained

The Philadelphia Phillies are closing in on their first trip to the MLB postseason since 2011, and they control their own destiny as the season wraps up with three games on the road against the Houston Astros.

What is the magic number for the Philadelphia Phillies to make the postseason?

With three games left in the regular season, the National League postseason bracket is still in flux, with the Wild Card round seedings and matchups still to be determined. However, heading into Monday’s play, Philadelphia has a 95.9 percent chance to reach the postseason, per FanGraphs.

Entering Monday, the Philadelphia Phillies are the sixth and final seed in the postseason, one game behind the San Diego Padres for the fifth seed and two games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers for the sixth seed. If Philadelphia earns the sixth seed, the Phillies will begin play on Friday in St. Louis against the NL Central division champion Cardinals.

Postseason seeding matters as, if Philadelphia could catch San Diego for the fifth seed, the Phillies would open the Wild Card round on the road against the runner-up in the NL East (likely the New York Mets) on Friday.

What is a magic number in MLB?

According to MLB.com, here is the definition for a magic number in baseball.

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.The exact formula is: Games remaining +1 – (Losses by second place team – losses by first place team)

What is the magic number for the Philadelphia Phillies?

Philadelphia’s magic number is 1 before play begins on Monday. Translation: If the Phillies win one game in Houston, or if the Brewers lose one game in their three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Milwaukee, Philadelphia will officially punch its ticket to the postseason.