Quick Answer
The New York Times crossword clue “Opponent of a Met or Marlin, in the N.L. East” has the answer “PHILLIE”, which is a 7-letter entry.
Clue: “Opponent of a Met or Marlin, in the N.L. East”
Answer: PHILLIE
Length: 7 letters
Clue number and direction: 2-Down (2D) in the NYT Mini for January 31, 2026.
In the grid, it runs down as P H I L L I E.
Why PHILLIE Is the Right NYT Answer
- The clue references Met (New York Mets) and Marlin (Miami Marlins), both teams in Major League Baseball’s National League East division.
- A natural divisional opponent of either team is a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, commonly called a Phillie.
- Crossword helper sites for the January 31, 2026 NYT Mini clearly list PHILLIE as the 7-letter solution for 2D, matching both the division context and the length.
What PHILLIE Means in Plain English
- A Phillie is simply a player on the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team. Just as a Met is a member of the Mets and a Marlin is a member of the Marlins, a Phillie is one member of the Phillies.
- So the clue is really saying “One player from the divisional rival of the Mets or Marlins,” and the answer names that opponent: PHILLIE.
Crossword-Specific Help: Pattern, Crossings, and Recurrence
- Sports-team demonyms like PHILLIE, MET, MARLIN, CUB, or RAY show up often in NYT grids, especially when the clue name-drops a division like “in the N.L. East.”
- Crossings from intersecting Across answers will quickly confirm the double LL in the middle and final IE ending.
- Related clues that can also lead to PHILLIE include “Citizen Bank Park player,” “Bryce Harper, for one,” or “N.L. East player in red pinstripes.”
Solving Tips for Similar NYT Clues
- When a clue references MLB divisions (N.L. East, A.L. West, etc.), first identify the teams in that division and then think of their singular forms (PHILLIE, MET, NAT, BRAVE).
- If you see “Opponent of a Met/Brave/Marlin” plus “in the N.L. East,” PHILLIE should be high on your list for a 7-letter slot.
Use crosses: once you have P-H-I from downs or acrosses, a baseball-division clue strongly points toward PHILLIE rather than general words like “rival.”
More NYT Mini Crossword Answers for January 29, 2026
| Clue | Answer | |
| 1A | Lifeguard’s skill, for short | View Answer |
| 4A | Health measure calculated using height and weight: Abbr. | View Answer |
| 7A | “I’ve cracked the code!” | View Answer |
| 8A | Long, long time | View Answer |
| 9A | Like a desert’s climate | View Answer |
| 1D | Header on a company’s website, perhaps | View Answer |
| 2D | Opponent of a Met or Marlin, in the N.L. East | View Answer |
| 3D | Halves of diameters | View Answer |
| 4D | Tech release that’s not the finished product | View Answer |
| 9D | Words from someone hoping to be friends on Facebook | View Answer |
