Phillies have to wait to clinch second straight NL East title

With a 10-3 loss to the Kansas City Royals on Sunday at Citizens Bank Park, and the Mets’ 5-2 win over the Rangers at Citi Field, the Phillies will have to wait at least one more day to clinch their second straight division title.

The Phillies needed a win or a Mets’ loss to win the NL East. Getting neither means their magic number to do so remains one.

A rough sixth inning by Aaron Nola hurt the Phillies in their series-finale loss to the Royals. After pitching three perfect innings to begin his afternoon, Nola was eventually tagged for six runs. He gave up two in the fifth and four in the sixth.

Royals right fielder Jac Caglianone hit a game-tying, two-run homer off Nola in the fifth. Kansas City’s first four hitters in the sixth inning combined to hit for the cycle against the Phillies starter, taking a 6-2 lead in the process.

Bobby Witt Jr. led off the sixth inning with a triple. Vinnie Pasquantino followed with an RBI double. Maikel Garcia then singled to plate Pasquantino, and Salvador Perez hit a back-breaking, two-run home run to give the Royals a four-run cushion.

The Phillies were held at bay by Royals starting pitcher Noah Cameron after Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto both homered in the bottom of the first. Cameron only allowed two more hits on the day. The left-hander was done after seven innings.

In Queens, the Rangers tied the game at two in the eighth inning, but Pete Alonso hit a three-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th to keep the Mets alive in the NL East race.

Now headed to Los Angeles for a three-game series against the Dodgers, the Phillies will have to win Monday to clinch the NL East. The Mets are off. New York starts a three-game series against the Padres on Tuesday.

This week’s series against LA is also important for seeding purposes. The Phillies are ahead of the NL West-leading Dodgers for the two seed in the NL playoff field. The top two seeds in each league get a bye through the Wild Card round, which the Phillies, who are also in range of the No. 1 seed, want.

Ranger Suárez will get the ball for the Phillies on Monday. For the Dodgers, it’ll be Emmet Sheehan.