Zack Wheeler shoves as the Phillies offense comes alive in Game 162 to secure a spot in the postseason
The Phillies are in. They beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-3 in Game 162, the final day of the regular season, to finish the year 88-74, and clinch the third and final NL Wild Card spot.
It took a lot longer than it should have and the last week was a mess, but none of that matters now. This is five straight trips to the postseason, and the Phillies are heading to Atlanta on Tuesday with a real shot to do some damage.
The Last Week Was Rough
There’s no point pretending otherwise. They started September with a 6½ game lead over Arizona for the top wild card spot and were still four games up with five to play.
Then the offense just… stopped producing.
Over four straight losses the Phillies hit .163 and scored three runs total, the boos got louder every night at the Bank, and people started bringing up 1964.
That comparison never really fit. The Fightins controlled their own fate the whole way. Arizona needed to beat San Diego and needed the Phillies to lose Sunday, and even if both teams lost, the Phillies were in. It was a bad week from a lineup that was pressing, not a collapse, and they took care of it by simply winning the game.
Of Course Zack Wheeler Delivered
Wheeler struck out 11 Brewers on Tuesday and figured his next start would be Game 1 of the Wild Card series. The late slide changed that plan and put him on the mound Sunday in a must-win spot, pitching through wind and the tail end of a nor’easter that let up just long enough to get the game in.
He struck out the side in the first and didn’t allow a run until Jonny DeLuca homered in the fifth. He went six innings against the best team in the American League and gave up five hits and one run with no walks and five strikeouts.
That was his 27th start of the season and by far his most important.
It’s worth remembering where he came from. Wheeler missed the last six weeks of last season and the first month of this one after surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome, and he still finished 14-5 with a 3.00 ERA. Sunday got him to exactly 162 innings, which qualified him and puts him seventh in the NL in ERA.
The one downside is that he won’t be available to open the series Tuesday. That’s the cost of how the final week played out, and it’s a cost the Phillies should be happy to pay.
The Phillies Offense Returned… Finally
Kyle Schwarber, who had been part of the slump, singled with one out in the first and scored on a Bryson Stott double to right. That gave the Phillies their first lead since Tuesday, and the crowd flipped from boos to cheers almost immediately. You could see the hitters loosen up right away.
The second inning is where the game turned. The Phillies put up four hits, three of them doubles. J.T. Realmuto ended an 0-for-32 skid with an RBI double.
Schwarber followed with a two-run double that put the Phillies firmly in control. Getting Realmuto going before the postseason is a big deal for this lineup.
Bryce Harper launched his 29th homer of the season to right in the fifth, only his second in 27 games, and Edmundo Sosa homered in the same inning.
The Phillies finished with six extra-base hits. This lineup was never as bad as last week looked, and Sunday was a reminder of that.
Mattingly went to Alex McFarlane after Wheeler, then brought in Jesus Luzardo for the eighth. Luzardo was activated off the injured list earlier in the day and needed just four pitches to retire the side, with his fastball touching 97. Jhoan Duran finished it off.
That eighth inning might be the most important thing that happened Sunday outside of Wheeler’s start. Short series come down to the bullpen, and a healthy Luzardo pitching in front of Duran gives the Phillies a much better chance to hold leads in Atlanta.
On to Atlanta:
The Braves won the division and beat the Phillies in nine of 13 games this season. That’s a real edge in the regular season, but it doesn’t carry over. The Phillies are 3-0 all-time against Atlanta in postseason series, including wins in 2022 and 2023 with this same core. They know how to beat this team in October.
The goal Sunday was just to get in, and they did. Now everything resets. It’s a best of three in Atlanta starting Tuesday afternoon, the offense is showing signs of life, and the bullpen just got stronger.
Red October is back.
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