By BETH HARRIS AP Sports Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A barechested Bryce Harper poured a bottle of Champagne over his head, soaking in the Philadelphia Phillies’ second consecutive NL East title.
Kyle Schwarber celebrated by chugging beer out of a hose as his teammates fed the contraption in the middle of a darkened visitors’ clubhouse after the Phillies rallied for a wild 6-5 victory in 10 innings over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night.
“You’ve got to enjoy this,” Schwarber said later, puffing on a fat cigar. “This doesn’t happen all the time.”
The Phillies hope it keeps happening all the way through October as they chase the franchise’s third World Series crown and first since 2008.
“We’re playing really good baseball right now and just got to keep going and keep understanding we’ve got a bigger picture,” Harper said. “We’ve got things on our mind that we want to win.”
Philadelphia was already assured its fourth straight National League playoff berth on Sunday, when the San Francisco Giants lost to the Dodgers.
And with the second-place New York Mets idle Monday, the Phillies needed a win to become the first division champion in the majors this season. They blew three one-run leads before finally getting past the NL West-leading Dodgers for their ninth victory in 11 games, opening a 12 1/2-game lead over the Mets in the NL East with 11 to play.
Philadelphia had just one hit — Schwarber’s 53rd homer — until the seventh inning. But then Weston Wilson and Harper homered as Philly rallied against the defending World Series champions.
“They’re just tough and they’re resilient,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said about his team. “They just keep fighting and I’m proud of them. This is a really special group.”
After the Dodgers’ Max Muncy grounded out to end it, the Phillies gathered near the mound to celebrate. They posed for a photo on the field as red-clad fans cheered behind their dugout at Dodger Stadium.
Then the party was on.
It was the earliest division clinch in Phillies history, two days sooner than the 2011 team that won the NL East on Sept. 17. This squad got it done in Game 151, second-fastest behind those 2011 Phillies who did it in Game 150.
Philadelphia (90-61) has three straight 90-win seasons for the third time in franchise history.
“I feel like we’ve done such a great job this year,” Schwarber said. “We’ve had a lot of really big injuries happen to us and we just have that next-man-up mentality. I felt like guys came up, they stepped up right away and they got the job done. That’s how you win big baseball games.”
Since the July 31 trade deadline, the Phillies are 29-14.
They lost ace right-hander Zack Wheeler when he went on the injured list a month ago with a blood clot in his right shoulder. Wheeler was 10-5 with a 2.71 ERA in 24 starts when he was sidelined, but Philadelphia’s pitching depth has allowed the team to absorb such a huge loss.
It certainly helped that the Phillies acquired closer Jhoan Duran and center fielder Harrison Bader from Minnesota at the trade deadline.
“We’re a little bit different than we have been in the past,” Thomson said. “We can do some things. We’re going to slug but we also can play some small ball to win games, too. It’s a good balance.”
All-Star shortstop Trea Turner (right hamstring strain) and third baseman Alec Bohm (left shoulder inflammation) are both on the IL. Thomson said Bohm could return later this week at Arizona, while Turner could be back in time for the final homestand of the regular season.
The victory made Thomson the third manager in franchise history to win consecutive division titles, joining Charlie Manuel (2007-11) and Danny Ozark (1976-78). Thomson is the fourth manager in Major League Baseball history to reach the postseason in each of his first four full seasons. Among the other three is Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts.
“I don’t feel 62 right now,” Thomson said. “The last four years has been the most fun I’ve had in baseball. It’s because of the guys. They have a lot of fun.” ___
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