The Phillies haven’t avoided disaster yet. They’ve merely postponed it ... for now
They will determine the final words that end up written about these last 10 days. Were they a harbinger? Or were they a rallying point? They will decide.
They haven’t avoided disaster yet. For now, all they have done is postpone it.
That’s a good thing, of course. Much better than the alternative. The Phillies arrived at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday with a chance to irrevocably damage their legacy by completing one of the must sudden and improbable late-season collapses in baseball history. In avoiding that fate, they looked a lot like the team that set a standard they’ve so consistently fallen short of. They scored early, and they scored often, with contributions up and down the lineup. The Phillies’ 7-3 win over the Rays was the kind of performance we once expected from this team in October. The confounding thing is that they needed it just to get there.
» READ MORE: The Phillies exhale in avoiding disaster to clinch a playoff spot in Game 162
All we can say right now is that their destiny is back in their hands. They will determine the final words that end up written about these last 10 days. Were they a harbinger? Or were they a rallying point? They will decide.
It would be lovely to say that the Phillies are exactly where we thought they’d be. That, after all the drama, after the four straight losses, and the six in eight games, after the Aaron Nola start on two days’ rest, and the three runs scored in 36 innings, after all of that, all that really matters is that the Phillies are in the playoffs and that the calendar starts anew.
It would be even lovelier to say that there could be some upside in the way they ended up earning their playoff spot. J.T. Realmuto was 0-for-33 in his last 10 games before he yoked an RBI double to left field in the second inning to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead. Bryce Harper hadn’t homered in 12 games before crushing a solo shot to right field in the fifth to put the Phillies up 5-1. Every member of the lineup either reached base or had an RBI. In their final tuneup before the playoffs, everything worked the way it was supposed to. If it really does matter who the hottest team is this time of year, and if you are only as good as your last game, well, who is hotter than the Phillies right now?
That’s not reality, of course.
Not with Chris Sale looming.
Not with Zack Wheeler unavailable to start a game against the Braves on normal rest.
Not with Don Mattingly’s options to counter Sale in Game 1 limited to inconsistent rookie Andrew Painter and possibly a rusty Jesús Luzardo fresh off the injured list.
David Murphy alerts
The Phillies entered the final week of the regular season with a chance to set themselves up for success in October. They could have been where the Padres are, hosting a best-of-three wild-card series on their home turf. They could be playing a team whose No. 1 starter has not held them to seven runs in 32 innings over his last five starts. They could have Wheeler on the mound in Game 1 instead of some combination of inconsistent rookie Painter and fresh-off-the-injured-list Luzardo.
The Phillies don’t have any of that. Which means they could still end up paying a steep price for the late-season swoon that saw them enter Sunday with a chance at completing the most (mathematically) dramatic collapse in the city’s history.
» READ MORE: Led by their stars, the Phillies are back in the playoffs. Anything can happen from here.
Most consequential is the lack of Wheeler. Against the Rays on Sunday, the 35-year-old veteran was exactly the pitcher you should have expected. With the Phillies needing a win in Game 162 to clinch a playoff spot, Wheeler held Tampa Bay to one run in six innings with five strikeouts and a walk. He threw an efficient 97 pitches, 68 of them for strikes. It was the perfect performance in the perfect spot.
Now, imagine if that spot had been Game 1 against the Braves instead of Game 162 against a Rays team with little to play for.
It will be a shame if Sunday was the last we saw of Wheeler this season. If it is, the Phillies will have only themselves to blame.
They need to win two more games in order to fully erase the disaster they’ve been over the last week-plus. With Game 1 in Atlanta slated for Tuesday, they still must win two more games just to get to the month of October.
Let's talk about the Phillies' bullpen. Larry Andersen happens to be an expert on the subject. The popular Phillies radio analyst had a 17-year major-league career in which he appeared in 699 games – all but one in relief. He joins Phillies Extra to break down the biggest question standing between the Phillies and a long run through October: How will they bridge the gap to closer Jhoan Duran? Watch here.
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