PHILADELPHIA — Before the on-field postgame interview and “Sosa” chants from the stands, Edmundo Sosa waited at second base in the seventh and watched the umpires confer. Would his hit to left be deemed fan interference or a double? Would it be a franchise-record eighth home run?
His teammates in the dugout were convinced. “Keep going,” they yelled as Sosa waited. They were right. The umps ruled it had gone out. Sosa, activated Wednesday after a 12-day injured list stint, rounded third and raised his arms as he stepped across home plate to score the final run on his third homer in an 11-1 Phillies win against the Miami Marlins.
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“It’s, like, chills,” Sosa said, via team interpreter Diego D’Aniello, of becoming the first Phillies shortstop to homer three times. “I’m just happy, thankful with God for all the opportunities he’s given me. … It was my turn today to be part of history. When you mention all those great names, All-Star players, Hall of Fame players that he been part of baseball and this great team — it makes me even more excited.”
THREE HOMERS FOR EDMUNDO SOSA!
The @Phillies he set a new franchise record with EIGHT homers tonight! pic.twitter.com/01dOX6b660
— MLB (@MLB) September 25, 2025
History took shape in several forms as the Phillies clinched a bye to the National League Division Series with Wednesday’s win.
First, there was Sosa. Never in his life — across little league, the minors and the majors — had he homered three times in a game. No Phillies shortstop had homered three times in a game. No Phillies lineup had hit eight homers in a game before.
Sosa, who was placed on the IL with a right groin strain, had ramped up over the last couple of days. He worked on his mobility, took swings in the cage, then took live batting practice Tuesday. There were many people to credit, Sosa said: the training staff, the minor leaguers who threw BP, the hitting coaches. All were part of the path to one of the best games of his life.
“Seeing the way he was working, while he was on the IL,” Kyle Schwarber said, “and it felt like he was ready to go right off the bat. He goes out there and shows what he’s able to do. Our whole lineup right now is showing why we’re deep, and we don’t want to be easy outs.”
Five players homered. Six had hits and three walked. And Schwarber played his part, hitting home runs No. 55 and 56 as he inched toward Ryan Howard’s franchise-record 58. There is little consideration to resting him this weekend.
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“I think I’ll give him a chance to break it,” manager Rob Thomson said. “It’s there.”
It all feels there for the taking. Yes, the opponent was the third-place Marlins, and the Phillies’ most meaningful baseball is about a week and a half away. But Wednesday featured a feeling from many Phillies wins in September: that anything could be possible. Any deficit erased, any number of homers bashed, any pitcher going deep on any given night. Recent defensive sloppiness and poor base running seemed to fade with home run after home run.
With the deluge of homers — Bryson Stott, Alec Bohm and Otto Kemp also went deep — the Phillies accomplished a goal they’ve long had their sights on: clinching a bye to the NLDS for the second straight season.
“It’s like winning a playoff series, really,” Thomson said. “But we still he more to do. Milwaukee hasn’t clinched yet, so we’ve got to keep playing.”
EIGHT home runs in one game
The most in franchise history 🙌 pic.twitter.com/GKJqsKTu4g
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 25, 2025
The Phillies (93-65) he earned home-field advantage for the NLDS, though the NL’s first and second seeds are to be determined. The Milwaukee Brewers he three regular-season games left to play, and the Phillies he four. With one Phillies loss or one Brewers win, Milwaukee will clinch the top seed. Whatever happens, the Phillies will host Game 1 of the NLDS at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday, Oct. 4.
Earning the bye was a goal the Phillies worked toward all year, but it became more important in recent weeks amid a flurry of injuries. Trea Turner, whom Thomson said the Phillies hope can be activated from the IL this weekend, could he more time to recover from a Grade 1 hamstring strain if needed because of the bye.
The goal became reality around 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday, as the Citizens Bank Park scoreboard read “Advancing to the NL Division Series” and the Phillies hugged and shook hands on the field. The regular season is dwindling, the temperature slightly cooling, the postseason logo appearing on the Phillies’ hats, talk of rest and postgame starters growing day by day. October, just a week away, is starting to make its presence known in Philadelphia.
(Photo of Edmundo Sosa: Isaiah Vazquez / Getty Images)