Six weeks of spring training. Six months of regular season. And now it all comes down to this for the 2026 Phillies.
Game 162.
The Phils continued their ugly late-season slump in an ugly 12-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays at rainy Citizens Bank Park on Saturday night.
Their once-firm playoff hopes, now wavering, will be decided on the final day of the regular season Sunday afternoon.
Zack Wheeler will pitch.
If the Phils win, they’re in.
They’re also in if they lose and Arizona loses its season finale to San Diego.
The Phils, however, will be eliminated if they lose and Arizona wins.
Even after all that – six losses in the last eight games, a stumbling offense and a collapse that reminds people of 1964 – the Phils still control their own destiny.
“It’s a Game 7 type situation, you have to win, you win, you’re in,” manager Don Mattingly said. “I didn’t imagine having to do this, but we have to do what we have to do if that’s what it takes to get in. Then everything’s fair game.”
Wheeler (13-5, 3.06) will face Tampa Bay’s Nick Martinez (15-5, 2.94), who was an All-Star this season. The Phillies had hoped to save Wheeler for their playoff opener Tuesday. But now they need their right-handed ace just to get there.
“Two weeks ago, I never would have imagined we would be in this situation,” JT Realmuto said. “But it’s this game. It knows how to humble you. Hopefully we come out better tomorrow and make the playoffs and get hot.”
If the Phils make the playoffs, they will play Atlanta in a best-of-three first-round series.
Saturday night’s loss was the Phillies’ fourth in a row. They were outscored 17-7. They have only scored three points in the last four games. It’s called going small when it matters most.
“Too many guys are cold at the same time,” Realmuto said. “For the most part, we have quality hitters. We’re just not getting the hits, not finding the holes, not getting to the important spots where we need that hit to gain momentum. We’re not getting the job done and that can be contagious. This time of year, it’s easy to try to do too much up there. Unfortunately, I feel like that’s where we are right now.”
Realmuto is the coldest of the cold Phillies. He is hitless in his last 32 at-bats.
“I feel like I’m letting a lot of guys down in this clubhouse,” he said. “I’m working hard to try to get it fixed by tomorrow.”
The Phillies are 9-14 in September. On the first day of the month, they held the top playoff spot with a 6 ½ game lead over Arizona, the team they are now desperately trying to hold off for the third and final wild card spot. The Phils entered this final six-game homestand Tuesday with a four-game lead over Arizona.
Sixty-two years ago, the Phillies blew a 6 ½ game lead with 12 games remaining, costing them the National League pennant.
That 1964 collapse haunted the franchise until it finally won a World Series in 1980. This collapse is different because the team is fighting for a playoff spot, not a World Series berth. But the ineptitude of it all still hurts, and fans aren’t happy. Saturday night’s crowd was announced at 43,076, technically a sellout, but there were many no-shows on a cold, rainy night. Those who showed up exercised their lungs and their Philadelphia civil right to boo. They did it in the first round.
“We understand the frustration because we feel it too,” Realmuto said. “It’s not the time of year to go cold. We’ve put ourselves in a difficult situation where we have to win tomorrow’s game to keep our season alive. It’s frustrating. But we have hope in this group.
“We always feel good when we have Wheels on the mound. It depends on our offense. We have to be able to score and have good hitters.”
With left-hander Jesús Luzardo on the injured list and no pitching depth to speak of, the Phillies turned their desperate eyes to Aaron Nola. The veteran right-hander valiantly started the match with just two days of rest. It was the first time he took a short rest in his 12-year career. This didn’t go well.
The Phillies didn’t expect Nola to pitch more than two or three innings. It only lasted one. He faced seven batters, allowed four extra hits and three runs, all with two outs. The big hit was a two-run homer by cleaner Junior Caminero on an 0-1 curveball.
A parade of relievers followed Nola. Tanner Banks and Chase Shugart kept things tight. José Alvarado did not do it. He allowed one hit, three walks (one intentional) and three runs. In total, the bullpen was hit for nine runs in eight innings. Newcomer Jose Urquidy went 2 2/3 innings and allowed three runs.
Desperate for weapons, the Phillies picked up Urquidy on waivers from the Chicago White Sox nine days earlier. His reward for taking over innings Saturday night could be abandoned Sunday, as the Phillies must clear a roster spot to activate Luzardo for an all-around job behind Wheeler.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. There wasn’t supposed to be this level of drama on the last day of the season. But that’s what the Phillies put themselves through.
“We have to win a baseball game,” Nola said. “It’s that simple. One more game. We have to win it. This ball club in front of us is really good and they played really well tonight, but they’re beatable. We’re a good team. We have Wheels on the mound. You know he’s going to fight.”
Gn sports
