Phillies-Brewers won’t air on NBC Sports Philadelphia this weekend

After Friday night’s heartbreaking loss against the Milwaukee Brewers, Phillies fans won’t be able to watch the final two games of the series on NBC Sports Philadelphia this weekend.

Saturday night’s game will air on Fox, while Sunday afternoon’s game will stream exclusively on Peacock, NBC’s subscription streaming service.

The Phillies enter the weekend in the top wild-card spot. If the playoffs were to start today, the Phillies would face the Chicago Cubs in the wild-card round at Citizens Bank Park. The Brewers, currently in first place in the National League Central, would host the third wild-card team.

There’s still a month of baseball remaining (the Phillies last regular-season game is against the New York Mets on Oct. 1), but the Phillies’s schedule down the stretch is slight easier this time around, compared to last season. Beyond the Brewers, the only team the Phillies face with a winning record are the Atlanta Braves.

So these final two games against the Brewers matter from the standpoint of figuring out how the Phillies stack up, especially with Aaron Nola pitching tonight.

Here’s everything you need to know to watch or stream the Phillies this weekend:

For the second straight week, the Phillies will play in front of most of the country on Fox’s Baseball Night in America. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. Eastern.

Calling the game on Fox is play-by-play announcer Adam Amin and Hall of Famer John Smoltz, in his ninth season calling MLB games at the network. Veteran baseball reporter Ken Rosenthal will be reporting from American Family Field.

Last year, Smoltz and Joe Davis called every Phillies playoff game after the wild-card series and thinks this year’s team could cause more problems for opponents thanks to a dynamic offense that’s currently firing on all cylinders.

“They have other ways of being able to score,” Smoltz told The Inquirer. “Trea Turner gets hot, and he gets on base. Bryce Harper can use his legs. They’ve got [Bryson] Stott, they’ve got [Brandon] Marsh. They’ve got several ways to put pressure on a team, and not just bopping home runs.”

While calling last week’s Phillies blowout win against the St. Louis Cardinals, Smoltz donned a Phillie Phanatic cap in the booth, a fun moment that quickly spread on social media thanks to his ties with the Atlanta Braves. Smoltz, who doesn’t even have an account on X, formerly Twitter, said he wasn’t even aware of the interest in his headwear.

“I like to have fun in the booth,” Smoltz said. “I don’t pay attention to anything [on social media.] I got a lot of laughs, and that’s really all I cared about.”

If you want to watch the series finale between the Phillies and Brewers on Sunday, there’s only one place to watch the game — Peacock.

The game will stream exclusively on NBC’s streaming platform, with first pitch scheduled for 1:05 p.m. Eastern. It’s the second and final time the Phillies are scheduled to play in Peacock’s Sunday Leadoff spot, and if you’re not already a subscriber, it will set you back $5.99 a month. Peacock is no longer free for Comcast Xfinity subscribers, but there is a discount.

Phillies left-hander Ranger Suárez is expected to make his first start since Aug. 13 on Sunday after sitting out with a strained right hamstring. He has a 3.88 ERA in 17 starts.

Calling the game will be Brendan Burke, the play-by-play voice of the New York Islanders. He’ll be joined by two analysts — NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Ben Davis and Bally Sports Wisconsin’s Bill Schroeder. It’s part of a strategy of placing a neutral play-by-play voice alongside an analyst from each of the team’s local broadcasts.

Sam Flood, NBC’s longtime producer and president of production, compared it to a dinner party where you might not know the other guests.

“We found that the analysts would say how much fun they had, how different it was than a normal game, because they’re engaging with someone who’s embedded in the other team,” Flood told The Inquirer in April. “The conversations went to new places, and each person learns something that made their future games better.”

» READ MORE: Bryce Harper talks about being a 94.1 WIP listener, chats with Chuck from Mount Airy

After this weekend’s series with the Brewers, the Phillies will have 26 games remaining. Here what their schedule looks like the final month of the season:

» READ MORE: How the Phillies might dole out playing time in an overcrowded outfield in September