PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Trea Turner won his second career NL batting title, Kyle Schwarber led the league with 56 homes and 132 RBIs and Nick Castellanos capped Philadelphia’s 96-win season with a sacrifice fly in the 10th inning as the Phillies beat the Minnesota Twins 2-1 on Sunday.
Turner and Schwarber have a few days to enjoy the spoils of their outstanding individual seasons before the NL East champion Phillies play again. The Phillies are set to host Game 1 of the NL Division Series on Saturday.
The Phillies will try to stay sharp during the layoff with an intrasquad scrimmage on Wednesday night.
The Phillies finished at 96-66 and are looking to win their first World Series title since 2008. Loaded with All-Stars and an opening day payroll that reached almost , the Phillies have struggled in the postseason the last three seasons, losing in the 2022 World Series, the 2023 NLCS and last year to the New York Mets in the division series.
Turner returned from a three-week layoff due to a and went 0 for 2, yet still finished a league-best .304 this season. Turner also won a batting title in 2021, when he led the major leagues at .328 for Washington and the Los Angeles Dodgers. He’s the first Phillies’ first batting champion since Richie Ashburn in 1958.
Schwarber, eligible for free agency in the offseason, finished one homer ahead of Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani to lead the National League and four behind major league leader Cal Raleigh of Seattle, who hit 60.
Schwarber fell two homers shy of matching Ryan Howard for the set in 2006. He closed out the regular season No. 3 in walks at 107.
Cristopher Sánchez struck out eight and tossed two-hit ball over 5 1/3 innings — and tipped his cap to a roaring, appreciative crowd — in his final start before he takes the mound in Game 1 of the NLDS.
Key moment
Minnesota’s Ryan Jeffers hit an RBI double off reliever Lou Trivino in the sixth, and Max Kepler tied the game 1-1 with a solo homer in the eighth. Castellanos drove in the automatic runner off Cody Laweryson.
Key stat
The Twins finished 70-92 and must decide if Rocco Baldelli will return as manager when they open the 2026 season March 26 in Baltimore.
Up next
The Phillies await their postseason opponent and the winner of the Dodgers-Reds first-round series.
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