PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Trea Turner yelled at his drunken Phillies teammates to clear a path — the clouds of smoke created by the puffs of his celebratory cigar surely tore a hole — as he rode into the clubhouse on a platform truck also loaded with cases of beer.

With his hood up, his goggles on, Turner jumped and splashed into the bubbles of beer and bubbly that soaked the clubhouse floor. The All-Star shortstop was ready to disrupt the celebration taking place around him.

The Phillies are used to these kinds of parties, but this time it was a surprise: for the first time in 13 years, they are heading to the playoffs as champions of the NL East.

Kyle Schwarber and JT Realmuto went deep. Phillies fans went wild. And pitcher Aaron Nola gave a preview of how great it would be for the entire franchise if Philly could go all the way.

The Phillies won the NL East for the first time since 2011 and captured the division title with a 6-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Monday evening.

“That was our main goal in spring training, to win the division and get that first-round bye,” slugger Bryce Harper said. “Do everything we can to get ready for the postseason. The division was the first thing.”

The Phillies had hung a tarp over the locker rooms in the clubhouse before the game. For the team, which has made the playoffs the past three seasons under manager Rob Thomson, it was a familiar sight of protection from the beer-poppers that lined up before the game.

They went wild when Carlos Estévez struck out Michael Busch with a fly ball to end the game. Phillies players swarmed each other in excitement on the infield. The Phillie Phanatic stormed into the celebration, waving a 2024 flag as fans stood and filmed the whole thing.

“We know we have a really big picture ahead of us,” Schwarber said before the game. “Winning the division is a big thing. If we go out there and do our thing tonight, it’s well deserved. It’s not an easy division to win. It’s never been an easy division to win. It’s definitely going to be a cool thing.”

Oh, it was cool in Philly for an announced sellout crowd of 42,386, with temperatures hovering around 60 degrees — a foretaste of October weather.

That suits this team perfectly.

With already a place in the post-season riveted Last week, Schwarber, Harper, Turner & Co. won the franchise’s 12th Division championship, and they have their sights set on a first-place finish in the National League playoffs.

The Phillies (93-64) are in second place, just behind the Los Angeles Dodgers (93-63) and would earn a first-round bye if the score remains tied.

“The most important things for me are really winning the division and getting a bye,” Thomson said. “If we play the whole game at home, that’s a bonus. But I’m not going to put our players at risk to get there.”

The Phillies have two games left against the Cubs and close the season with a three-game series in Washington.

With playoff appearances the norm for these Phillies, the inevitability of them may have kept some fans at home. After selling out game after game during a sensational season, there were still a few empty seats at Citizens Bank Park, which held more than 3.2 million people.

Thomson once said a rival coach told him that a playoff game in Philly was “four hours of hell.”

“I think it’s the best atmosphere in sports,” All-Star reliever Jeff Hoffman said. “It feels like it’s 50,000 to nine. It’s always a good feeling when you step on the field.”

Phillies fans were greeted with the words “CLINCHED” on the video board outside Citizens Bank Park, while Harper and Nola were featured as anchor photos on a “Make More HISTORY” banner near the main entrance.

“Being able to come home and do it here, in front of the best fans in baseball, in front of a fan base that came out for us every night, was just a lot of fun,” Harper said.

Philadelphia ended Atlanta’s streak of six straight NL East titles and is looking to finish the season with the best record in the major leagues and home-field advantage in the postseason.

The Phillies, seeking their third World Series championship after titles in 1980 and 2008, overtook Atlanta for the division lead on May 3 and have not trailed since.

Philadelphia won five straight NL East titles from 2007-11, then went 10 years without making the playoffs. The Phillies were wild cards in each of the past two postseasons, and went on consecutive October runs that ended in heartbreak.

They reached the 2022 World Series, where they lost to Houston in six games, and lost a seven-game NL Championship Series to Arizona last year, after beating the underdog Diamondbacks 2-0, 3-2.

The path here division title was a bit messy after the team raced to the best Start of 50 matches in the majors since Seattle in 2001. The Phillies regressed over the summer, but returned home this week after going 2-5 against Milwaukee and the New York Mets.

Both teams could face the Phillies in October.

It seemed fitting that the 31-year-old Nola would be on the mound for the clincher. Nola was a first-round draft pick by the Phillies in 2014, made his debut the following year and has remained with them his entire career. He’s one of baseball’s most reliable pitchers — a valuable asset amid the modern stresses on major-league bullpens.

Nola helped Philadelphia earn a wild-card berth last year, going 3-1 with a 2.35 ERA in four playoff starts. He has made five postseason starts in 2022, going 2-2 with a 4.91 ERA.

Nola briefly tested the free agent market last season before signing a seven-year, $172 million contract to remain with the Phillies.

His reward: another chance in the playoffs to win the World Series title he’s been working toward for 16 years.

“I think that says a lot about our club. We stayed hungry after losing the World Series and the CS last year,” Nola said. “We hope we can keep that up.”

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb