PHILADELPHIA -- Even after the Mets throttled the Phillies on Friday night at Citizens Bank Park, 11-3, the Phils still carried a commanding seven-game lead in the NL East with 15 games to play.

It would take a miracle for the Mets to pull a 2007 Phillies.

The Phillies are almost certainly going to win their first division title since 2011. It¡¯s only a matter of when. (FanGraphs gives them a 99.4 percent chance, even after Friday¡¯s loss.) The Mets are just trying to clinch an NL Wild Card spot.

But the postseason realities for these NL East rivals didn¡¯t make a series-opening blowout loss any less frustrating.

"Obviously, just because this is a very important series for us,¡± Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto said. ¡°Really, every series the rest of the year, every game seems a little more magnified right now. It's just kind of the way we lost, just going out there and getting our butts kicked basically. That's never fun.

¡°And in a game of this magnitude, it's definitely frustrating."

While this weekend¡¯s series is unlikely to change anything in the NL East, it could be a postseason preview.

The Phillies and Mets have never faced each other in the playoffs, but it could happen as early as the NL Wild Card Series, if the Phillies fall to the No. 3 seed behind the Dodgers and Brewers, and the Mets win the No. 6 seed.

It could happen in the NL Division Series, if the Phillies win the No. 1 seed and the Mets advance as the No. 4 or 5, or if the Phillies win the No. 2 seed and the Mets advance as the No. 6.

Imagine what a Mets-Phillies postseason series would be like.

¡°They¡¯re playing good right now,¡± Phils right-hander Aaron Nola said. ¡°They have a good squad. They hit with guys in scoring position, guys on base. I don¡¯t feel like they try to hit the long ball all the time. They get timely hits. They have big innings.¡±

The Phillies ended Friday night with infielder Kody Clemens pitching the ninth inning and starters Trea Turner, Nick Castellanos and Realmuto exiting to get a break in a game they could not win.

Nola allowed six runs in just 4 1/3 innings, allowing three-run home runs in the fifth to Francisco Alvarez and Brandon Nimmo. It was the first time Nola had allowed two three-run homers in a start in his career.

It was the first time a Phillies pitcher had allowed two three-run homers in an inning since Connor Brogdon against the Giants on April 20, 2021.

Nola had not allowed a hit through four innings, striking out six. He allowed a couple hits to start the fifth, when he hung a breaking ball to Alvarez, who homered off the left-field foul pole. He allowed another couple hits with one out, when he hung another breaking ball to Nimmo, who hit the ball to right.

¡°Those two curveballs just popped out of my hand and were over the plate too much,¡± Nola said.

It was only the second time in Nola¡¯s career that he had allowed two homers in a game off his curveball.

Nola has not pitched five innings in each of his past two starts. He has allowed 10 runs in nine innings, including four home runs, in those outings. He had a similar stretch like this last September, when he was unable to complete five innings in three consecutive starts before finishing strong.

He has struggled in previous Septembers, too.

¡°I¡¯ve just got to eliminate the big inning,¡± Nola said. ¡°Obviously, the fifth inning was a big inning. It spiraled too much. ¡­ I¡¯m just going to keep doing what I usually do, and try to finish as best as I can. Flush this one quick, and get a good week going before my next outing.

¡°That¡¯s really all I can do. Flush this one and focus on my next outing in Milwaukee.¡±

Nola is scheduled to pitch three more games before the postseason, where he is 5-3 with a 3.70 ERA in nine starts.

¡°I have no concern,¡± manager Rob Thomson said. ¡°We¡¯re not in [the postseason] until we¡¯re in. I¡¯ve said that all along. But I think his performance in October has showed that he can bounce back.¡±