Phillies exhale, top Rays to secure NL's final wild-card berth — SkimNews
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- The Phillies beat the Rays 7-3 on Sunday, Sept. 27, clinching the NL's final wild-card berth and a fifth straight playoff appearance, with Jhoan Duran striking out Nick Fortes to end it.
- Kyle Schwarber delivered a two-run double in the second inning and punctuated it with an exuberant belly-flop slide into second base, pumping his fist toward a fired-up Philadelphia dugout.
- Zack Wheeler worked six innings of one-run ball on 97 pitches to win his 14th game of the season, but the clinch pushing to Game 162 means he'll miss the start of the Wild Card Series.
- Bryce Harper lined a solo homer into the first row of the right-field seats, Edmundo Sosa added a two-run shot in the seventh for a 7-1 lead, and J.T. Realmuto busted a 34-at-bat hitless streak with an RBI double.
- The Phillies scored just three runs over their previous four games — including a 12-1 Saturday loss to Tampa Bay — after owning a 6½-game cushion over Arizona on Sept. 1.
- Game 1 of the Wild Card Series is set for Tuesday in Atlanta, with Jesús Luzardo and Cristopher Sánchez in line for Games 1 and 2 and Andrew Painter or Aaron Nola possible for a Game 3.
Why it matters: Pushing the clinch to Game 162 cost the Phillies Zack Wheeler for Game 1 of the Wild Card Series in Atlanta on Tuesday, forcing Jesús Luzardo or Cristopher Sánchez to start instead. A team that scored just three runs over its previous four games now opens a best-of-three against the Braves with its ace already spent.
Ask SkimNews
