'It'll be a little rowdy': Bohm, Phillies gearing up for NL East crown

This story was excerpted from Todd Zolecki’s Phillies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

If you want to know about the vibe inside the Phillies’ clubhouse on Friday night at Citi Field following a postseason-clinching victory over the Mets, know that long after most players left for the team bus, more than a half-dozen glasses filled with champagne remained untouched on a table in the middle of the clubhouse.

No bottle will be left unopened or spilled on Saturday night if they win again.

Because if they win, they will have clinched their first NL East title since 2011.

“It’ll be a little rowdy for sure,” Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm said.

Bohm helped the Phillies cruise to a 12-2 victory on Friday night. He went 4-for-5 with one home run and four RBIs. His three-run homer in the fourth inning, his second blast in three games, turned a three-run lead into an 8-2 laugher.

It was Bohm’s second game back in the cleanup spot, where he had hit since late April, until he injured his left hand on a swing in late August. Bohm missed more than two weeks because of the injury, so he hit fifth for three games upon his return.

“I think he’s been great,” Bryce Harper said. “I think he needs to give himself a little bit of grace too, though. Obviously, he wants to be great from the jump. We expect that out of him, but also he’s coming back from a tough injury with his hand. He’s definitely got to give himself some grace. I think as a player, we know what he’s going to do, we know what he can do in the postseason as well. He’ll show up when the lights turn on.”

Bohm was an RBI machine for much of the season, particularly the first half. It got him voted as the starting third baseman for the NL All-Star team. Following Friday’s game, Bohm is batting .290 with 15 home runs, 94 RBIs and an .810 OPS.

“It feels good,” Bohm said about his swing.

Harper mentioned grace because Bohm can be hard on himself. If you have seen him spike his helmet into the ground following an at-bat, then you know he shows his frustration a lot.

“Just do what I did tonight,” Bohm said about getting back to his first-half successes. “It’s as simple as that. I mean, just keep putting the bat on the ball, cut the chases down, do what I can to just swing at good pitches. Make them throw the ball over the plate. The more I put the ball in play in those situations, there’s a chance for good things to happen.”

And giving yourself grace when it doesn’t happen every game?

“It’s not a matter of being too overly frustrated,” he said. “I get it. I haven’t seen pitching in a couple weeks. You’re facing the best of the best so it’s obviously not always going to be easy. Not that it ever is, but sometimes those pitches you get over the middle of the plate, in this league you have to do something with them or you’re not going to have much success.

“So that’s kind of where a little bit of frustration comes in. Obviously, you just take a step back and realize I haven’t been out here for a couple weeks. It’s a hard game. I’m going to miss sometimes. But keep at it.”