NEW YORK – For months it felt inevitable.

The fastest start in franchise history will do that. The Phillies won 37 of 51 games and 45 of 64, their postseason chances soared to 90%, then 95%, and never dropped again. They could have been printing playoff tickets by Memorial Day and looked only slightly overconfident.

But baseball wears down even the good teams. The Phillies endured a summer slump that, while it didn’t knock them out of first place, did damage to their invincibility. And they lost three of four games this week, putting the champagne on ice longer than expected.

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After Alec Bohm hit a three-run home run into the New York night in the fourth inning on Friday night, ushering in the 12-2 victory over the Mets that finally became a reality, it was only fitting for manager Rob Thomson to toast a third consecutive playoff berth with champagne.

Red October, welcome back to Philadelphia.

“It’s difficult to get to this point,” said Thomson, wearing a blue MLB “October Ready” T-shirt. “There are a lot of really good teams out there. You have to overcome obstacles. The goal is now set: to win the World Series, and that’s all. And that’s a good feeling. Really.”

With another win this weekend over the second-place Mets, the Phillies will clinch their first National League East title since 2011. And then the real party begins with beer glasses and soap suds in every corner of the clubhouse.

“It’s getting a little louder,” said Bohm, as several half-full champagne glasses remained on a nearby table. “Definitely.”

But there is no one in baseball who takes the playoffs for granted, even at a time when 12 of the 30 teams make the playoffs. The Phillies recently went 10 seasons without making the playoffs. They now have the fourth-longest streak of playoff appearances behind the Dodgers, Astros and Braves. And Atlanta’s six-year run is threatening to end.

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And as Thomson told the players in his toast, it’s only the third time in the Phillies’ 142-year history that they’ve made the playoffs three years in a row, making five straight appearances from 2007-11 and three straight appearances from 1976-78.

So yes, it is an achievement that should be appreciated.

“This is a huge accomplishment,” Bryce Harper said. “I think it’s always great when you make it to the postseason, no matter the outcome. This game is tough. I think our team has done a great job all season. We have bigger goals, but this is a great moment.”

Maybe you didn’t know it by the last out. The Phillies clinched their victory when reliever Jeff Hoffman got Mets rookie Luisangel Acuña to step out to shortstop. Hoffman clapped catcher JT Realmuto’s hands, and the Phillies calmly went through the signature handshake for the 92nd time in 154 games.

But wait a minute: Why was the Phillies’ most effective reliever playing in a 10-run game?

“Why wouldn’t you want to be that guy?” Hoffman said of the defining moment. “It was a whole season of hard work that culminated in one moment. It was good.”

It was also a moment to imagine how much better things could get.

For example, imagine if Bohm were to return to being the RBI machine he was in the first half of the season. He recently missed 14 games with a left hand injury and managed just 2 of 15 runs in his first four games back.

And yet there he was, in his usual cleanup spot, hitting a home run on a sweep by right-handed reliever Adam Ottavino after the Mets intentionally walked Harper with first base open, blowing the game apart like a piñata in the decisive fourth inning.

Two weeks ago, Bohm said swinging a bat felt like someone was hitting his hand with a hammer.

And now?

“Good,” he said.

But perhaps Bohm’s hand had been bothering him for longer than he let on. Perhaps he was just tired. On Friday night, his batting average was .264 and slugging average was .403 with 11 doubles, 20 RBIs and an OPS of .718 since the All-Star break. Before the break, his batting average was .295 and slugging average was .482 with 33 doubles, 70 RBIs and an OPS of .830.

Imagine what a productive Bohm would mean for the offense.

“He wants to be great from the start and that’s what we expect from him,” Harper said. “But I think he needs to give himself some time. He’s recovering from a serious hand injury. As players, we know what he’s going to do. We know what he can do in the postseason. He’s going to show up when the lights come on.”

” READ MORE: Phillies Playoffs: Schedule, tickets, opponents and everything we know now that they’ve won

Bohm said, “I just have to keep putting the bat on the ball, shortening the chases, doing what I can, swinging at good pitches and getting them to throw the ball across the plate. The more I put the ball in play in those situations, the better chance I have of something good happening.”

The stars will carry the Phillies in the postseason. But they could also use the matchups for unexpected contributions. In a preview of his postseason strategy, Thomson loaded the lineup with right-handers against Mets left-hander David Peterson. Edmundo Sosa started at second base ahead of Bryson Stott; Weston Wilson started in left field ahead of Brandon Marsh.

And Sosa started the decisive fourth inning with a one-out single before Wilson hit a double to left field. Johan Rojas, who hit a game-winning walk-off single last September, put them ahead with a double down the left field line to extend the lead to 4-2.

Then there was Cristopher Sánchez, who bypassed a season-high five walks and overcame a two-run first inning to get through five. His initial struggles continued a puzzling trend that saw him post a 2.05 ERA at home compared to 5.02 on the road.

The Phillies looked into it but came to no conclusion. At first, Thomson wondered if Sánchez would play against better teams on the road. But that was not the case.

“He was better on the road last year,” Thomson said. “I don’t know if it varies from year to year, from case to case. I don’t know what it is. There’s definitely something to it.”

” READ MORE: Taking stock of the Phillies’ top five relievers: How each is preparing for World Series action

Regardless, it’s something the Phillies will consider when assembling their rotation for the postseason.

Oh, and Thomson, superstitious as anyone, can now start talking about the postseason, even though the Phillies have been planning it for months.

Red October is less than two weeks away.