Philadelphia can breathe. That is not a sign of the time when everything went according to plan.
With a 7-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, the Phillies clinched the third and final wild card spot in the National League, holding off a late charge from the Arizona Diamondbacks. They will play the division rival Atlanta Braves on a wild card.
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Philadelphia could be tied for first place in Wednesday’s playoff game, entering a three-way tie with the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres 87-70. The D-backs appear to be dead in the water, four games out of the trio with five games left in the playoffs.
The Cubs and Padres both pitched on Thursday. The Phillies, meanwhile, lost every game from Wednesday to Saturday, by a combined score of 23-3.
As MLB reached the final day of the season, the Phillies entered Sunday with a one-game lead on the D-backs, but it was Arizona who held the tiebreaker. That created a stark scenario in which the Phillies could avoid disaster with either a loss or a D-back.
Sunday could have been a darker day for the Phillies. In the losing game they snapped the streak at four.
(Emilee Chinn via Getty Images)
The Phillies handled the weekend as if it was an emotional elimination game, first starting shortstop Aaron Nola in their 12-1 loss to the Rays on Saturday and activating Jesús Luzardo from the injured list to come out of the bullpen after Zack Wheeler on Sunday.
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Wheeler delivered what was needed with a 6-inning start consisting of 5 hits, 1 run, 0 walks and 5 strikeouts in 97 pitches. Luzardo got the ball in the eighth inning and recorded three straight shots before handing the ball to closer Jhoan Duran.
Meanwhile, the Phillies offense scored more runs in the first two innings than they had in the previous four games combined, with Bryson Stott, JT Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber all delivering RBI doubles. Disaster must be avoided.
The Phillies’ prize will be a three-game road series against the Braves, against whom they have gone 4-9 this season. Progress will be a tall order, but it beats what would have been described as the second coming of the Phillies’ infamous September 1964 collapse.
It will be the Phillies’ fifth straight playoff berth, but they are still looking for their first World Series since 2008. They haven’t won a playoff series since the 2013 NLDS.