Luke & I on the Phillies Ep. 37: PHILLIES PHINALLY CLINCH THE NL EAST! -- 9/23/24

#Phillies/#MLB Insider Luke Arcaini goes live as the #Phillies defeat the #Cubs to become National League East Champions for the first time since 2011.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hill. He's on the East, breaking ball shadow right, Chugars

(00:26):
going up.

Speaker 2 (00:27):
Castiano's coming on.

Speaker 1 (00:30):
The Phillies.

Speaker 3 (00:36):
This is Luke and I on the Phillies, brought to
you by Fox Sports The Gambler.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
Yeah, baby, they did it. Uh if you're living under rock.

Speaker 1 (00:48):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (00:48):
For the first time since twenty eleven, the Phillies have
won the NL East and officially are on top of
the n L East. They once again hold the best
record in baseball. Still, I believe after that win tonight,
just just an unbelievable season.

Speaker 2 (01:07):
You can you can, you can.

Speaker 3 (01:08):
Really go back and and look at so many different things.

Speaker 2 (01:13):
There were so many injuries they dealt with.

Speaker 3 (01:15):
It felt like at there was some point in the
season where it felt like at least one person was hurt.
They went through some pitching stuff, some bullpen issues, and
they just didn't back down. They fought all the way
through and now they they're on top again.

Speaker 2 (01:34):
I'll tell you this, it feels really good.

Speaker 3 (01:37):
The goal of the season isn't to win the National
League East, it's to win the World Series.

Speaker 2 (01:42):
But man, this feels good. I didn't like watching the
Braves win the last six.

Speaker 3 (01:46):
That's not fun, so to to really finally be be
on top of this division again.

Speaker 2 (01:53):
That it's it's really really special.

Speaker 3 (01:55):
And I and I know all these guys talked before
the season down in spring training, they said, obviously the
goal to win the World Series, but the first one
is to win the division.

Speaker 2 (02:04):
They don't want the Braves to win the division, right.

Speaker 3 (02:06):
They don't want to see the Braves celebrate at Citizens
Bank Park again because that's what's happened. They don't want
that ever again, and this year that didn't happen. So
now ninety three and sixty four on the season, twenty
nine games over five hundred fifty three and twenty six
at home. It's the best home winning percentage in all

(02:29):
of baseball.

Speaker 2 (02:30):
This team just wins.

Speaker 3 (02:31):
Listen, I don't want to be that guy, but they
just wanted to clinch at home.

Speaker 2 (02:34):
I get it right.

Speaker 3 (02:35):
It would have been cool to clinch in New York,
there were some overreactions last night, but to do it
at home, man, it's special there.

Speaker 2 (02:45):
That place was mob tonight. It felt like a playoff
game in there. Early.

Speaker 3 (02:49):
Aaron Nola's striking a guy out early in the game.
It's it sounded like the NLCS in there just vibes
are up. Just gat great all round stuff. If you
guys are in here, feel free to drop any comments
down on be hanging out for about fifteen minutes here.

Speaker 2 (03:05):
I want to know how you guys are feeling.

Speaker 3 (03:07):
Because this hasn't happened for a while twenty eleven.

Speaker 2 (03:10):
I was.

Speaker 3 (03:12):
Nine years old the last time that the Phillies won
the NL East. It's special, I tweeted out a few
minutes ago. Times like this make me think of the
guys that have been here a while. First, one, you
think of Aaron Nola, right, just a guy who's been
been through the ringer with this team, has seen many

(03:34):
many bad seasons, many losing seasons, many many multiple and
multiple game under five hundred seasons for.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
Him to really.

Speaker 3 (03:46):
For him to get that one's awesome because he hasn't
even sniffed it, man, like none of these guys have
sniffed it with this team. I feel happy, Luke, Yes, Matt,
I feel happy as well. Just just an unbelievable night,
a really great win.

Speaker 2 (04:02):
The offense looked great.

Speaker 3 (04:04):
But really, first I want to just continue to talk
about Aaron Nole, because just a freaking workhorse out there, man,
a guy that has risen to the eclate to the
occasion in clinchers since twenty twenty two.

Speaker 2 (04:21):
This is from Phillies notes.

Speaker 3 (04:23):
Aaron Nola has started seven games the Phillies could either
a clinch a postseason birth, be win a postseason series,
or see win a division title. Aaron Nola has posted
a one point six to two ERA in forty four
innings with forty six strikeouts to seven walks. Just nasty stuff.

(04:47):
He obviously had the chance to send them to the playoffs.
Last week he pitched unbelievable. The offense didn't help. I agree, Chris.
He said Nola has been the longest. But don't forget
Ranger two. I think he came up in twenty six
in twenty seventeen. I believe it was twenty sixteen. I mean, yeah,
guys like like Nola, guys like Ranger.

Speaker 2 (05:06):
Just to finally be able.

Speaker 3 (05:07):
To get that that division crown in the Phillies uniform
is is really awesome because these as we know, they
they don't come around often. The Phillies are getting ready
to pop some bottles now. It looks like the goggles
are on, the shirts are on. There's a lot of
Budweiser's going on. So yeah, man, what a night, what

(05:31):
a night, what a season. A really awesome night from
the offense obviously the first one obviously being the real
newte homer, uh, and then followed by the Schwarber homer,
and then RBI is from Castianos J. T.

Speaker 2 (05:45):
Schwarber. Again, just just a really really big.

Speaker 3 (05:48):
Night from the offense, something that you like to see
because because it's it's been a it's been a bit
of a rut. I would say, the last the last
few days for the offense, but really awesome to see.

Speaker 2 (06:03):
Uh Nola had to start on days where we threw.

Speaker 3 (06:05):
Out Michael Saunders and Wilson Ramos to catch her. Yeah,
I would love to go back, and uh, I would
love to go back and see how many different guys
have caught Aaron Nola if you're interested in doing that, Chris,
I would love to see the all of the names.

Speaker 2 (06:22):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (06:22):
That's definitely over on Baseball Reference somewhere, but I mean
there's a lot of them. So it's just really really
awesome just to see these guys win the East again.

Speaker 2 (06:34):
Uh.

Speaker 3 (06:34):
And and really just to see all this hard work payoff, man,
because it's it's been a grind of a season. Obviously,
if you have the best record in baseball, it doesn't
seem like a grind. But but the baseball season is
a grind for all thirty teams. It's it's seven straight
months of of of game after game and losing streaks. Right,

(06:56):
Losing streaks aren't fun. These guys hate to lose, but
they happen. That's baseball. So and it is really funny
because you look down at these stats, right, and you
look at the amount of guys that have taken at
bats for this team this year, or the amount of
guys that have threw pitches out of.

Speaker 2 (07:16):
The bullpen for this team.

Speaker 3 (07:19):
Do you guys remember Ricardo Pinto? Like that was this season?
Remember when Connor Brogden was on the Phillies, Like it
feels like forever ago, but that that was this season.

Speaker 2 (07:30):
Yeah, So the bottles have been popped. They just absolutely doused.

Speaker 3 (07:35):
Rob Thompson, Garrett Stubbs has half overalls on with no pants,
no shirt. Brandon marsh is throwing goggles at people. Currently,
if you guys don't have the NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast on,
I would throw that.

Speaker 2 (07:50):
On an on another screen because these boys are ready
to party. I'll tell you that.

Speaker 3 (07:57):
So any more final thoughts from you guys here. I
didn't really want to make this long. I want you
guys to enjoy that broadcast, but just a really awesome night.
I mean, you can go down and really look at
this list and see just how much of a grind
this season is. I mean, over thirty guys have taken
a bats this season, over forty guys of third.

Speaker 2 (08:15):
At least one pitch. It's just baseball is a grind.

Speaker 3 (08:20):
And to win a division like this, especially a division
that's not easy.

Speaker 2 (08:25):
Right.

Speaker 3 (08:25):
You get a good Braves team, and I know they've
dealt with a ton of injuries this year, but they're
still a good baseball team. And you get a Mets
team who, although we can sit back and say they're
the Mets, they looked pretty good this weekend. If they
can sort of get into a spot here, they can
make a little noise. I don't think they're gonna make
noise against us, but I think they can make noise

(08:46):
in a playoff series. So like this, this isn't an
easy division. I think we know about the Nationals and
the Marlins. That's that's really nothing. Special there, but this
isn't an easy division to win, so it's a It
was a hell of a run. The run is is
just getting started, which is the best part. So I

(09:07):
believe after that win, I'm gonna pull these up real quick.
But the Philly should at least be tied at the top,
all right, So they're a game and a half. Sorry,
there are half a game back right now from the Dodgers.
But they're right there, man, They're right there. The Braves
fans are going to be annoying until playoffs start. We
would have won the division if we stayed healthy. Yeah,

(09:29):
I mean, listen, I think that's an acceptable argument for
them to make. Losing arguably the best pitcher in the
National League and one of the best players in the
National League. That's not easy to really overcome. I mean,
they dealt with injuries this year, a ton of them.
It really wasn't just just those two guys. Austin Reiley

(09:49):
was down. But I don't know, man, something about this year.
It felt like from the beginning of the season that
this was the year to win the division and they
did it.

Speaker 2 (10:00):
So it was an awesome one.

Speaker 3 (10:02):
Expect to hang over line up tomorrow that's gonna be
a funny one tomorrow.

Speaker 2 (10:08):
It always is. But yeah, Phillies within the East.

Speaker 3 (10:14):
The Phillies have won the National League East for the
first time since twenty eleven.

Speaker 2 (10:19):
It feels really damn good.

Speaker 3 (10:21):
To say it, and I and I hope you guys
are enjoying this.

Speaker 2 (10:26):
You can play, should have, could have all day long.
Unfortunately things happen.

Speaker 3 (10:29):
But you can't just keep harping on hypothetically exactly right,
no matter what happens. You have to put the team
out there that you have. So that's that's that's really
what the Braves did. So on that note, I am
gonna hop out of here. Just want to talk for
a little bit. Thank you guys for coming on. The
Phillies have won the East and the job hasn't done yet.

Speaker 2 (10:49):
Peace