Phillies Host Rays With Playoff Spot Within Reach
The short version
- Phillies (87-72) hold the NL's third wild-card spot, two games ahead of Arizona (85-74).
- Magic number is two: a Phillies win plus a Diamondbacks loss Friday would clinch a playoff berth.
- Cristopher Sanchez (18-6, 2.93 ERA) faces Freddy Peralta (9-11, 4.56 ERA) at 6:40 p.m.
- Phillies win tiebreakers over the Padres (6-0 season series) but lose them to the Cubs (1-6).
- Wild-card series begin Sept. 29; the third seed would draw a trip to Atlanta.
Philadelphia opens its final regular-season series Friday needing a win plus an Arizona loss to lock up an NL wild-card berth.
The Philadelphia Phillies begin their last series of the regular season Friday, Sept. 25, welcoming the Tampa Bay Rays to Citizens Bank Park. First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m.
Cristopher Sanchez gets the ball for Philadelphia. The left-hander enters the start at 18-6 with a 2.93 ERA. Tampa Bay counters with right-hander Freddy Peralta, who is 9-11 with a 4.56 ERA.
Viewers in the Philadelphia market can watch on NBCSP, with radio coverage on 94WIP and WDEL 101.7 FM/1150 AM. Streaming options include nbcsportsphiladelphia.com and the NBCSP app for local viewers, plus FuboTV, Hulu, Peacock and YouTube TV. The game is also available through PHILLIES.TV for subscribers, and radio broadcasts can be streamed via MLB Audio.
Philadelphia sits at 87-72 and occupies the NL's third wild-card slot, two games clear of the Arizona Diamondbacks at 85-74. The Chicago Cubs (88-71) hold the second spot, and the San Diego Padres (89-70) are first after punching their postseason ticket on Sept. 24.
The Phillies dropped their most recent game 5-1 to the Milwaukee Brewers. Elsewhere around the league, the Cubs slipped past Miami 2-1, Arizona routed Colorado 12-8, and San Diego beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2.
Two is the magic number for Philadelphia to secure a National League playoff berth. That means the Phillies can punch their ticket Friday night with a win over Tampa Bay combined with a Diamondbacks loss to the Rockies.
Tiebreakers could come into play. The Cubs own the head-to-head edge over Philadelphia after taking the season series 6-1, so Chicago would win a two-team tie. The Phillies swept the Padres 6-0 in the season series and would claim the higher seed in a two-way tie with San Diego. In a three-way deadlock, the Cubs would take the top seed, the Phillies the second and the Padres the third.
As for a potential opponent: if Philadelphia finishes as the top wild card, it would host the second wild card for a three-game series beginning Sept. 29 at Citizens Bank Park. As the second wild card, the Phillies would travel to the top seed for a series starting the same day. Should they settle into the third slot, they would visit the Atlanta Braves for a three-game set opening Sept. 29.
All four contending NL clubs close the season with series running Sept. 25-27: the Phillies host the Rays, the Diamondbacks visit San Diego, the Cubs travel to Boston, and the Padres face Arizona at home. Fans can catch the Rays at the Phillies on Friday, Sept. 25 at 6:40 PM EDT from Citizens Bank Park, with coverage on MLB.TV, Rays.TV and NBC Sports Phil.
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