NEW YORK — Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies clinched their third consecutive playoff appearance Friday night with a 12-2 victory over the New York Mets.

Assured at least a National League wild card, the Phillies can secure their first NL East title since 2011 with one more win this weekend against the second-place Mets at Citi Field.

With the division crown so close, Philadelphia planned a mellow celebration following Friday night’s game — hoping to let loose soon with a boozy clubhouse bash after locking up first place.

Seeking their third World Series championship, the Phillies overtook Atlanta for the division lead on May 3 and haven’t trailed since. Their victory coupled with the Braves’ 4-3 loss in Miami eliminated Atlanta from contention for the NL East crown — ending its six-year reign atop the division.

Alec Bohm had four hits and four RBIs, including a three-run homer, in Friday night’s blowout. Nick Castellanos had three hits and two RBIs, J.T. Realmuto added a two-run homer and the Phillies extended their NL East lead to seven games over the second-place Mets (85-69) with eight to play.

Philadelphia stole five bases — four in a six-run fourth inning capped by Bohm’s homer off reliever Adam Ottavino. Johan Rojas had a two-run double off starter David Peterson (9-3), who was pulled after just 64 pitches and 3 2/3 innings — his shortest start of the season.

Cristopher Sanchez (11-9) overcame a shaky start and five walks in five innings for the win. Philadelphia outhit the Mets 17-4.

Philadelphia (92-62) has the best record in the major leagues and is on track for a first-round bye in the playoffs. It’s the third time the Phillies have reached the postseason three years in a row (1976-78 and 2007-11).

Philadelphia won five straight NL East titles from 2007-11, then went 10 years without making the playoffs. A wild-card entry each of the past two postseasons, the Phillies put together consecutive October runs that ended in heartbreak.

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

So this time, the Phillies are looking to go all the way and finally finish the job.

Philadelphia’s only World Series championships came in 1980 and 2008.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

OAKLAND, Calif. — New York Yankees star right fielder Juan Soto was scratched from the lineup a day after hurting his left leg sliding into a wall to make a catch.

Soto was originally in the lineup for Friday night’s series opener against the Oakland Athletics but was pulled out after reporting soreness and swelling in the leg. Manager Aaron Boone said X-rays were negative and Soto will not need additional testing.

Soto hurt the leg Thursday in Seattle when he slid into the short wall in foul territory down the right-field line while making a highlight-reel catch. He remained in the game.

Boone said Soto is day-to-day. The manager noted that he wasn’t “overly concerned” that the injury will linger into the postseason. The Yankees clinched a playoff berth Wednesday night and went into Friday holding a four-game lead in the AL East over Baltimore with nine games to play.

“Guys do a good job of knowing how to protect themselves and playing smart in certain situations,” Boone said. “I think him getting down the way he did protected him a little bit. Obviously, he bruised it and he’s out today. But I think the way he did it avoided something serious.”

Soto is batting .286 with 40 homers and 103 RBIs in his first season with the Yankees. He entered the day second in the majors with 125 walks, 284 times on base and a .418 on-base percentage, trailing only teammate Aaron Judge in all three categories. Soto is third in the majors with 120 runs scored.

Soto missed three games in June with left forearm inflammation.

OAKLAND, Calif. — The A’s began their final homestand of their final season in Oakland on Friday night, and nobody can predict what might take place over the next six games and seven days.

After 57 seasons in the Coliseum, there will be emotion, but how that emotion will manifest itself is the main question on everyone’s mind.

“We’ve heard some rumblings, and we’re going to have some more meetings about it,” said left fielder Seth Brown, who, in his sixth season, is the longest-tenured Athletic. “The fans have always supported us, and we just hope they support us in a positive manner. We want everyone to come out and enjoy the time and give it its last hurrah, and at the same time we’re hoping it’s done the right way.”

The A’s will play three games against the New York Yankees before finishing the home portion of their schedule with three games against the Texas Rangers. The final game, on Thursday afternoon, will be the final major professional game in Oakland, which has lost three major franchises — the Warriors, the Raiders and now the A’s — in five years.

Beginning next spring, the A’s will play a minimum of three seasons in a minor league ballpark in Sacramento before making a permanent move to Las Vegas.

The A’s have been forced to deal with one off-the-field distraction after another over the past two seasons, from the Las Vegas announcement last April to the Sacramento announcement this April.

“This isn’t really new for us,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “But the emotion last year was a lot greater in terms of the anger. This year has been really, really calm, and I don’t know if that’s because they’ve gotten the anger out. There’s still going to be that emotion as we near Thursday, but that’s part of whenever the healing process starts.”

Fans in Oakland have staged numerous protests aimed at owner John Fisher, who pulled out of a massive development deal in Oakland in April 2023 and announced the move to Las Vegas. There was a highly publicized “reverse boycott” last year and an Opening Day parking lot boycott — where fans congregated in the parking lot but refused to enter the stadium — this season.

Before Friday, the team had drawn 738,438 fans, the worst in Major League Baseball.

“The last three games are going to be pretty epic for us and the fan base,” outfielder JJ Bleday said. “I’m kind of looking forward to it, though. It’ll be exciting to play some games with a crowd. Obviously, I feel bad for the fan base, but we’ll be a part of history.”

The A’s have instituted some precautions for the final homestand, alerting the players to be aware of their surroundings in case fans decide to take the field. Players have also been told not to gather for photographs with family on the field after games.

“Just get on out of there,” Bleday said.

Before Friday’s series opener against the Yankees, fans taped the ubiquitous “SELL” signs to the railings in the right- and left-field bleachers. Another sign — “VIVEK REPENT” — was a reference to Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive, who also owns the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, who will share Sutter Health Park with the A’s.

Ranadive, a friend of A’s owner Fisher, engineered the deal to provide the A’s with a temporary home, rent-free.

“I wish we were staying here,” Bleday said, “but it’s not up to me. I do have a jar ready to fill up with some dirt, though.”