Phillies will need Game 162 to get into the playoffs, or complete their collapse after another loss to Rays
With the Phillies’ 12-1 loss to the Rays, their drawn-out collapse has become a five-alarm fire of humiliation. They will need Sunday to decide their fate.
Above each locker in the Phillies’ home clubhouse is a rolled-up sheet of plastic. They have waited there, lining the room, for the past three days, ready to be unfurled the moment the Phillies secured a playoff spot. But by Saturday evening, the Phillies’ fourth consecutive loss, the plastic and what it represents had become taunting.
Even the old photo of Kyle Schwarber in his high school football uniform that had been taped above the door, presiding over the room for the last month, had been taken down. There is nothing to laugh about anymore.
With the Phillies’ latest 12-1 loss to the Rays, their drawn-out collapse has become a five-alarm fire of humiliation. Every one of interim manager Don Mattingly’s gambles failed on Saturday, a dreary, rainy night befitting perhaps one of the last gasps of the Phillies season.
» READ MORE: Trea Turner returns to leadoff spot, Bryce Harper to first base as Phillies remain without injured Luis Arraez
And if the Phillies find themselves playing beyond Sunday, they have Manny Machado and the Padres to thank. While the Rays’ lead grew to double-digits, on the other side of the country Machado hit a go-ahead two-run homer to help sink the Diamondbacks, 10-7. In doing so, he and the Padres helped shrink Phillies’ magic number to 1.
The desperation move to start Aaron Nola on two days’ rest did not work. Junior Caminero jumped on him with a two-run homer, and back-to-back doubles from Victor Mesa Jr. and Richie Palacios gave the Rays a 3-0 lead before the Phillies’ offense even stepped into the box.
All three runs came with two outs. The Phillies had hoped he could give them 40 to 50 pitches; Nola only lasted 21.
The gamble to mix up the offense didn’t work, either. In a playofflike atmosphere, both in stakes and in temperature, the Phillies folded. They mustered seven total hits. The $780 million top of the Phillies order — Trea Turner now moved to leadoff, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper — accounted for three of them.
Catcher J.T. Realmuto went hitless again before being replaced by Garrett Stubbs with the game already out of reach in the seventh. His slump has reached 0-for-34.
One play in the third encapsulated how things have been going for the offense: With Justin Crawford on second base, Turner hit a 104 mph laser up the middle, but it bounced off the back of pitcher Griffin Jax and directly to shortstop Taylor Walls. He was able to finish the play and the inning.
Jax had to be helped off the field and the Rays called on their bullpen for the fourth, which continued to stifle the Phillies bats.
Mattingly’s gamble to intentionally walk Caminero in the fifth inning proved to be one of the most disastrous. With José Alvarado on the mound, two runners on, the game still within a three-run margin, the Phillies took the bat out of Caminero’s hands. Alvarado has been better against righties this season — they have a .235 average against him, compared to lefties’ .333 — though Caminero is a power threat no matter the handedness of the pitcher.
But Alvarado did not throw another strike after that. He gave up a single to Mesa Jr. on a sinker below the zone, and then walked Palacios on four pitches to force in a run. When José Urquidy took over, the bases still loaded, another single scored two more. And before the final out of the fifth, the Phillies had already essentially waved the white flag.
By the time the Phillies finally scratched across a run on an error from Palacios in the seventh, their scoreless streak had reached 21 innings. It surpassed the previous season-high drought of 20 set in April. Back then, the Phillies preached patience. This time, there is nothing to be patient for. There is no time left.
The Phillies have one final chance in Game 162 on Sunday, when they are expected to start Zack Wheeler. Mattingly is making one more gamble. If this one works, they will be without one of their aces for the wild-card series. If it doesn’t, their season is most likely over anyway.
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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