Philadelphia is eager to begin

PHILADELPHIA — Rob Thomson gripped a bottle of bubbly in the exhilarating moments after the Philadelphia Phillies clinched a second straight postseason berth and called Bryce Harper, Bryson Stott and crew “the most resilient team I’ve ever been around.”

The second-year manager then pointed his bottle toward catcher J.T. Realmuto and asked, “How many more playoff wins ... ”

Realmuto cut him off and shouted “we’ve got 13 more wins left!” before he showered Thomson in alcohol.

The countdowns after each clinch started last season — from the wild-card series through the National League Championship Series — but stalled in the World Series. The Phillies won 11 postseason games, two shy of the ultimate goal and their first World Series title since 2008.

A year later, the Phillies are back and determined to finish the job, their confidence boosted by the soclose effort in a loss to Houston in the World Series and a lineup and pitching staff they believe are deeper than the ones from last fall.

Led by Kyle Schwarber’s 47 homers, six players hit at least 20. Their top three starters combined to win 40 games.

Everyone in Philly is on board. Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid wore a “Red October” stocking cap at the team’s media day Monday, and the Phillies drew more than 3 million fans for the first time in a decade.

“I think our position players are rested, but I think they’re still sharp,” Thomson said at Monday’s workout. “We’re in a good spot.”

The Marlins are in the playoffs for only the fourth time in their 31-year history.

Miami went 7-6 against the Phillies this season and 4-2 at Citizens Bank Park, numbers that prove the Marlins could steal a series in October. The Phillies know it can be done — they won two games in St. Louis in last year’s wild-card round.