It’s done. The Phillies have been swept by the Atlanta Braves and have officially been eliminated from playoff contention. They dropped their third game in a row to Atlanta last night by a final score of 5-3 and watched the Braves clinch their fourth NL East title in a row with their own eyes.

Kyle Gibson took the mound last night, and he wasn’t great. Gibson finished with 4.1 innings pitched, allowing four earned runs, two walks, and striking out eight batters. The Braves’ offense continued to take advantage of the Phillies, putting up early runs and taking an early-game lead again.

The scoring started early for Atlanta, as Jorge Soler took Gibson 465 feet to left field to make it a 1-0 game in the bottom of the 1st. Austin Riley would add to the score in the top of the fourth, sending a bomb over the left-field wall to move the score to 2-0. Dansby Swanson would then double to center, scoring Travis d’Arnaud. The score was now 3-0, and the Phillies couldn’t respond.

Ozzie Albies would triple to right field in the bottom half of the fifth, scoring Freddie Freeman. Gibson would then exit the game, and Connor Brogdon would pick up right where Kyle would leave off. Austin Riley singled in Albies to make the score 5-0.

Ian Anderson had the Phillies’ number all night and was dominant through six innings. He only allowed three hits on the whole night, striking out just two batters. But most importantly, he found ways to get guys out, something the Phillies couldn’t do. Although the bats were dead all night, the team tried to string some sort of a comeback late. Andrew McCutchen would homer to left field, scoring Brad Miller as well in the top of the 7th. JT Realmuto would homer in the 8th inning to move the score to 5-3, but the rally would be cut short there.

McCutchen would strike out swinging in the 9th, followed by a Didi Gregorious pop out to shortstop. Ronald Torreyes would step up to the plate with two outs in the 9th and the season on the line. This call will haunt me forever, but TMac, take it away.

Sickening. After 159 games of the regular season, the Philadelphia Phillies have officially been eliminated from playoff contention. The ups, the downs, and everything in between, and meaningful Phillies baseball is now over for 2021. If the Mariners find their way into the second AL Wild card spot, the Phillies will hold the longest current playoff drought streak in the MLB.

Although this isn’t technically it for the team, last night was indeed the end. The Phillies will head down to Miami to take on the Marlins this weekend to cap off their disappointing 2021 season.

Don’t text; depression is kicking in. How many days until pitchers and catchers?

Mandatory Credit: AP Photo