What to watch for as the playoffs loom: Phillies counting on Alex McFarlane, starters as relievers, and more

The Phillies returned from their final road trip of the season with work to do.

Their magic number to clinch a postseason berth is three. Any combination of wins and Diamondbacks losses that totals three will ensure the Phillies’ season continues beyond Sunday. But while they remain in control of their own destiny, it won’t be easy.

To close out the final week, the Phillies host the top team in the National League in the Brewers, followed by the top team in the American League in the Rays.

Here are a few takeaways heading into the last homestand of the regular season:

The circle of trust in the Phillies bullpen right now is extremely small. The relief unit has a 5.50 ERA in September, and the club took the drastic measure of optioning Orion Kerkering to triple-A Lehigh Valley on Sunday after his struggles became untenable. Unless there is an injury to another member of the staff, he is ineligible to be on the wild-card roster.

While the Phillies’ rotation and closer Jhoan Duran are among the best in the sport, it’s the bridge between them that has been the biggest issue. The Phillies continue to hope Jonathan Bowlan (groin) will be available for the postseason. The right-hander began playing catch Sunday, and reported to the field on Monday’s off day to continue his progress.

Before the injury, Bowlan had been going through a rough stretch, having allowed a run in five of his last six appearances. Even if he were a full go, it would be hard to imagine tossing him right back into an eighth-inning, high-leverage role after spending some time on the shelf.

» READ MORE: Phillies send struggling reliever Orion Kerkering to triple A

Enter Alex McFarlane.

The 25-year-old rookie came through in a big spot against the Mets on Sunday, facing two tough opponents in Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto to get out of a seventh-inning jam. By retiring both, McFarlane added a few more notches to his belt, which already included stars like Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout, and Nolan Arenado.

But Sunday’s win over the Mets also revealed how interim manager Don Mattingly is planning to handle his relievers in the postseason. After McFarlane struck out Soto to preserve a two-run lead with his 18th pitch, there was initially no movement in the Phillies’ bullpen during the eighth. When the Phillies loaded the bases, that’s when Chase Shugart started getting ready.

Had the Phillies’ lead stayed at two, though, Mattingly was going to send McFarlane back out. Duran would have then started warming to relieve him, and then finish it off in the ninth.

It didn’t wind up happening, but Mattingly envisions using McFarlane and Duran to cover the last nine outs of a close game.

“I think it is [realistic] this time of year,” Mattingly said. “I mean, I think with Jho, you also get to the point where he’s capable of two innings. You’re just trying to get the guys that we need in the game, for as much as you can.”

So while the lack of relief depth is still a concern, things will operate a bit differently in the playoffs. The trusted high-leverage arms, as few as they are, can and will be called upon to do more.

» READ MORE: Don Mattingly thinks Chase Shugart can take on a bigger role in Phillies' bullpen

McFarlane has thrown more than one inning just once in the two months he’s been in the majors, covering 1⅓ innings Aug. 15 against the Twins. He said he is ready to do whatever he’s asked.

“Just grateful for the opportunity,” McFarlane said. “Whatever opportunity he gives me, I’m just gonna take it one game at a time. Make sure I prepare my best, and just give all I can anytime he sends me out there.”

The Phillies still haven’t mapped out how they will deploy their rotation in a wild-card series. That’s because there’s a lot of unknowns: whether they will make it at all, who they will play if they do, and the health of Jesús Luzardo.

The club is “very optimistic” about Luzardo’s progress from the shoulder inflammation that landed him on the injured list, according to president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. Like Bowlan, he has also progressed to playing catch.

Should Luzardo remain on track to return in time for the postseason, Dombrowski said the Phillies are keeping their options open with how they deploy him. It could be as a starter, which might be a risk given his last outing will have been Sept. 7. It could also be as a reliever, a role Luzardo has less experience in, but experience nonetheless. In the deciding Game 4 of the 2025 National League Division Series, he held off the Dodgers for 1⅓ innings of emergency relief in extras, pitching on short rest.

» READ MORE: The Zack Wheeler conversation: Why he ‘expected’ to thrive after surgery, and how much longer he wants to play

His performance in that role was largely overshadowed by how the game ended, with Kerkering botching a bases-loaded grounder to allow Los Angeles to walk it off. Had Kerkering made the throw to end the inning and things turned out differently, Luzardo’s clutch bullpen appearance might have gone down as legendary instead.

Whether or not Luzardo is one of them, the Phillies bullpen will be getting reinforcements by way of the rotation for the postseason. The question is who.

“Some of our starters are going to end up in the bullpen,” Dombrowski said. “I don’t know how it’s going to work at this point, but some of them will, especially when you get to the first round. We’re going to be the best of three, so you only can start three guys at that point. So you got two other guys that can go into the bullpen.”

It’s difficult to see a world where Zack Wheeler or Cristopher Sánchez aren’t starting two of the wild-card games. Aaron Nola has continued his second-half resurgence with a 2.15 ERA since Aug. 3, but he has never been a reliever in any capacity during his major league career, regular season or postseason.

Rookie Andrew Painter continues to be under consideration for making the move. He gave up four runs in his last start against the Mets, but the quality of his stuff remained high. Painter’s first inning especially stood out, when he got Lindor to ground out before striking out Soto and Bo Bichette.

Painter touched 99.4 mph with his fastball in the fifth inning. In a shorter stint, it isn’t hard to imagine him getting into the triple digits.

“I think his stuff will be very solid out there,” Dombrowski said.

» READ MORE: Andrew Painter’s potential role on a Phillies playoff staff is uncertain. Painter says any role is OK with him.

If the opportunity arises in the final six games, Mattingly said he could see the Phillies test-driving that theory by trying Painter out in the bullpen ahead of the playoffs. That said, time is running out.

Painter doesn’t think he necessarily needs a trial run to feel comfortable pitching in relief, however. He has experience with his routine shifting already, pitching behind an opener earlier this year and also appearing in relief after being scratched from his start because of a migraine.

“I feel like postseason baseball, in that atmosphere, the adrenaline is going to be flowing,” Painter said. “I don’t really think there’s much of an adjustment that’s going to be there. I think the adrenaline would just take over from that point.”

Whether the Phillies’ offense will get hot at the right time or slide back into a familiar October slumber remains to be seen. But there were some positive signs, particularly from the top of their order, in the series against the Mets.

En route to the series split, it was the top half of the order that carried a lot of the load — excluding a key bases-loaded triple from nine-hole hitter Justin Crawford on Sunday. And that’s how it will need to be for the Phillies to make a deep run.

They didn’t do it with the long ball, as the Phillies’ only two home runs in the series came from Derek Hill and Edmundo Sosa. Instead, they got on base, moved runners, and strung together hits.

Trea Turner in particular had a strong series. He finished 4-for-13 (.308), but the real eye-popping stat was his .526 on-base percentage.

» READ MORE: Can Trea Turner rescue his season despite career-worst stats at the plate? His manager and teammates believe so.

If he could maintain some of that momentum, it would be transformative for the Phillies. What has been a disappointing season by most measures for Turner could be rescued with a strong postseason performance.

“I think more and more, you see how they’re pitching him, and it’s I think basically not throwing him strikes,” Mattingly said of Turner.

According to StatCast, 53.6% of the pitches Turner has seen this year are out of the strike zone. It’s a few percentage points higher than the 51.3% out-of-zone pitches he saw last year, and trails only Kyle Schwarber (54.8%) and Bryce Harper (57.4%) among Turner’s teammates.

The difference has been that Turner swings at those out-of-zone pitches at a much higher clip. His chase rate this year is 34.6%, the second-highest of his career.

But against the Mets, he showed a glimpse of what he could be if he homes in on his selectivity. Turner drew six walks in the four-game series. He also scored three runs.

“The more he walks, the more they’re forced in the strike zone,” Mattingly said. “And when he’s on base, obviously it creates a danger there with him running and things like that. We need him to get on base. When he’s on base, we’re better.”

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Matt Klentak's fingerprints are still on the Phillies' roster six years after he was the team's general manager. These days, Klentak is part of the front office for the Brewers, who recently clinched their fourth consecutive NL Central title. With the Brewers coming to town Tuesday, Klentak joined Phillies Extra to discuss his current and former teams. Watch here. 

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