Citizens Bank Park was buzzing as 42,637 fans were in attendance for Game 162 of the Philadelphia Phillies’ season, a 2-1 extra-inning victory against the Minnesota Twins. As a whole, the Phillies welcomed 3,375,457 fans in 2025, the most the Phillies have seen in a single season since 2012.
The fans in attendance witnessed the Phillies’ 96th win on the season, the franchise’s most in a single season since 2011.
Sanchie Sunday
Coming into Sunday with 196.1 innings pitched, Cristopher Sánchez reached 200 innings pitched on the year when he got Royce Lewis to fly out to Bryson Stott with a runner on base in the fourth inning. Ending the day with 202 innings pitched and 212 strikeouts, this is his first season eclipsing 200 in either category.
Sánchez pitched 5.2 seemingly effortless innings on the day, striking out eight Twins batters. Sánchez only needed 60 pitches to do so, allowing two hits and walking no one.
“I told him that about 44,000 people think I'm an idiot right now by taking you out,” manager Rob Thomson said in his message to Sánchez upon removing him. “We want to take care of him.”
Trivino, Taijuan, and a troublesome bounce
Lou Trivino came on in relief of Sánchez with two outs in the sixth inning. Walking the first batter he faced, Austin Martin, Trivino quickly let a run cross the plate as Ryan Jeffers hit a double into left field to score Martin. Trivino ended his day with 0.1 innings pitched and one run allowed.
Taijuan Walker then entered for the top of the seventh. After recording the first out of former teammate Kody Clemens, Walker walked Brooks Lee. Lee then advanced to third on a double from pinch-hitter Trevor Larnach. After loading the bases by walking Ryan Fitzgerald, Walker struck out the next two batters to get out of the inning unscathed.
Twins starting pitcher Simeon Woods Richardson dominated against the Phillies, allowing one baserunner on an opposite-way single from Bryson Stott in the third inning. Woods Richardson pitched six innings on the day, striking out nine Phillies batters in the process.
Down by one run, Kyle Schwarber worked a walk to get the Phillies’ second runner on base on the day to lead off the bottom of the seventh. After a fly-out from Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm reached base on a single up the middle. Weston Wilson advanced Schwarber to third on a fielder’s choice ground ball that pinched Bohm for the second out of the inning.
With the game-tying run 90 feet away, Nick Castellanos hit a hard ground ball up the middle. The grounder bounced off the pitcher’s mound and directly into the glove of second baseman Fitzgerald, who out-legged Wilson to second base for the final out of the inning.
The German strikes back
Down a run going into the bottom of the eighth, Max Kepler stepped up to the plate to lead off the inning. It had been a difficult year for Kepler, who was signed over the offseason in hopes of bringing stability to the Phillies’ outfield. Ending the year with a .216 average, Kepler had one last trick up his sleeve in a line drive home run into right center field to tie the game at 1-1. It was Kepler’s 18th home run of the season, the third most on the team.
David Robertson and Tanner Banks rounded out the eighth and ninth innings on the mound for the Phillies. The pair combined to keep the Twins scoreless while allowing one baserunner each.
Free baseball
As Game 162 reached its apex, the Phillies and Twins found themselves not ready to retire. Tied 1-1, the final game of the regular season went into extra innings at Citizens Bank Park.
Orion Kerkering worked a masterful inning in the top of the tenth, striking out the side to keep the Twins from scoring.
Harrison Bader came in to pinch run for Alec Bohm as the ghost runner in the bottom of the 10th. Weston Wilson bunted him to third base for the first out of the inning, setting up Nick Castellanos. Castellanos took care of business, driving a fly ball into center field, scoring Bader on a sacrifice fly to lock in the Phillies’ 96th win of the season.
Turner secures Batting Title; Schwarber HR and RBI
Despite going 0-for-2 in his return from the Injured List, Trea Turner had something to celebrate as he returned to the dugout for the Phillies. With the conclusion of his day also came the conclusion of his 2025 stat line, featuring the highest batting average among qualified players in the National League at .304.
Turner is now the eighth player in Phillies’ history to win the batting title and the first to do so since Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn did in 1958.
Kyle Schwarber, meanwhile, ends the regular season with the most home runs (56) and RBI (132) in the National League.
“It’s great,” Thomson said post-game. “You know, we had 10 guys on the team with 10 home runs, so that's a pretty good balance… And, you know, our rotation led in quality starts by a bunch. So, really a lot of fun things to watch.”
Enter Red October
Having reached the finish line on the 2025 regular season, the Phillies will now spend the next few days switching gears from the marathon that is the regular season to the sprint leg that is the postseason. The Phillies will host the victor of the NL Wild Card series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds for Game One of the NLDS on Saturday, October 4.
“We’re not done yet,” Thomson explained, he told the team after the game. “We’ve got 11 more wins to take care of.”
Before that, however, the Phillies will open the doors of Citizens Bank Park to the Phillies’ faithful to partake in an intrasquad game on Wednesday, October 1. The postseason tune-up is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
