The plastic sheets have been rolled up above the lockers in the Phillies’ clubhouse since Wednesday.
It’s like they’re part of the decor.
But they’ll stay there for one more day. Because a team that extends its season after the endurance test of 162 games in 185 days deserves to let loose. A playoff spot, no matter how it’s won, is worth celebrating.
And somehow, someway the Phillies can still make the playoffs. Even after this Saturday Night Massacre — a 12-1 humiliation, in the rain, against the 98-win Rays — near the end of a week from hell in which a $320 million roster has gotten plenty of boos but not a drop of booze.
Heck, they can make it even if they lose again Sunday.
And wouldn’t that be fitting?
“We’ll see,” said interim manager Don Mattingly, who appears more downcast by the day.
OK, let’s get this out of the way: The Phillies will make the playoffs if they snap a four-game losing skid in the regular-season finale … with Zack Wheeler starting on regular rest … and Jesús Luzardo expected to be back from the injured list and available out of the bullpen.
“To me, it just comes down to our offense,” said J.T. Realmuto, hitless in 34 at-bats, four shy of matching an unwanted franchise mark. “We need to be able to score.”
The Phillies’ Justin Crawford loses his helmet while batting in the third inning on Saturday.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Easy enough, right? Until Rays second baseman Richie Palacious bobbled a grounder in the seventh inning, the Phillies hadn’t scored in 21 innings, a season-high. They have scored three runs or less in 10 of the last 13 games.
So, what if the bats don’t thaw against Rays starter Nick Martinez, a 15-game winner with a 2.94 ERA? Well, the Phillies can back into the playoffs — can’t you just hear the beep, beep, beep? — if the Diamondbacks lose in San Diego.
But you have to wonder about the collective psyche of a team that has made this all much harder than it ever needed to be.
“Two weeks ago,” Realmuto said, “I wouldn’t have guessed that we’d be in this situation.”
Indeed, when the month began, the Phillies led the Diamondbacks by 6½ games with 23 remaining. At the start of this week, the lead was four games with six to play. The Phillies’ playoff odds were 99.1%, according to Fangraphs.
No wonder Mattingly has looked shaken after the last few games. And although Kyle Schwarber, the Phillies’ de facto captain, often notes in times of trouble that the core of the roster has been through almost everything together over the last five seasons, they haven’t experienced anything like this.
“Obviously we put ourselves in a tough situation where we have to win [Sunday’s] game to keep our season alive, most likely,” Realmuto said. “It’s definitely frustrating. But we have hope in this group, and we have a lot of confidence here that we can get it going.”
If it was to happen, this feels more comparable to the 2007 Mets, who led the Phillies by two games with five left and finished 1-4 (while the Phils went 4-1). Even the 2011 Red Sox finished 2-3 to blow a 1.5-game lead over the Rays on the final night. (Rays finished 5-0).
There isn’t much else to say. And there weren’t many players left in the clubhouse to say it after getting throttled by the Rays.
Aaron Nola was made to start the game on two days’ rest because the fourth-largest payroll in the sport somehow doesn’t include a No. 6 starter. He faced seven batters, got three outs, and gave up three runs on four extra-base hits, including a two-run homer to Rays star Junior Caminero.
“I was actually really proud of him,” Mattingly said. “Taking the ball there on two days’ [rest], kind of just gutting it out.”
But Nola shouldn’t have been in that position any more than the Phillies should be in their overall predicament. In that way, he was a symbol of everything that has gone awry.
The season for interim manger Don Mattingly and the Phillies comes down to one game on Sunday.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
So, they turn their lonely eyes to Wheeler, less a stopper than firewall against missing the playoffs for the first time since 2021. The Phillies are 19-8 in his starts.
“We’re always confident when that guy’s on the mound,” Realmuto said.
Never mind that the Phillies will have to burn Wheeler in Game 162 instead of saving him for Tuesday night in Atlanta, when he would’ve been lined up to start Game 1 of a best-of-three wildcard miniseries.
But the only thing more unexpected than the way things have unfolded is that the Phillies might actually live to tell about it. All of it.
Video: J.T. Realmuto: The Phillies are ‘as hungry as we’ve ever been’ to win a World Series
The 9-19 start that resulted in the firing of manager Rob Thomson and the initial revival under Mattingly.
A skid after the All-Star break and a surge that began in an Iowa cornfield.
The 8-14 finish that put them on the brink of collapse.
“I didn’t really picture this, like having to do this,” Mattingly said. “But you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do if that’s what it takes for us to get in. And then it’s all square. It’s all even.”
As the Phillies plunged into a teamwide slump over the last few weeks, Don Mattingly preached consistency over change in the batting order.
But something finally changed Saturday.
With two games to go and the Phillies needing to win at least once to clinch the final National League wild card, Mattingly flipped Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner atop the order, with Turner leading off for the first time since Aug. 3.
“Honestly,” Mattingly said, “we really didn’t change a whole lot. Just a little different feel as much as anything else. It’s not a huge change.”
Mattingly also put Bryce Harper back at first base and Alec Bohm at third, a return to the infield alignment before the deadline trade for Luis Arraez, who missed his second game in a row with a sprained left ankle.
The Phillies haven’t disclosed the severity of Arraez’s injury, though Mattingly described it as “a pretty good ankle sprain.” The team hasn’t put a timetable on his return either, though it doesn’t appear imminent. If he’s placed on the injured list, he will miss at least the wild-card miniseries.
“It doesn’t feel great,” Mattingly said. “We don’t know what he’s going to be able to do. We’ll see how far we can go with it. Obviously, we’re hoping he can do something, but it doesn’t feel that great.”
Phillies second baseman Luis Arraez sprained his left ankle Thursday night.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
In Arraez’s absence, Mattingly said Harper could move between first base and right field. When Edmundo Sosa starts, he’s best suited for third base, which would put Harper in the outfield; when Bryan De La Cruz starts, it would be in right field, with Harper at first base.
Turner’s return to the leadoff spot comes amid a 12-game stretch in which he batted only .244 with a .358 on-base percentage. But Schwarber was in a 6-for-48 (.125), 15-strikeout rut over his last 14 games.
As a team, the Phillies were batting .241 with a .292 on-base percentage, .632 OPS, and 74 runs in their last 21 games en route to going 8-13. In the previous 21 games, a 17-4 stretch, they batted .273 with a .352 on-base percentage, .756 OPS, and 110 runs.
Phillies pitcher Jesús Luzardo is expected to be reinstated from the injured list Sunday.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Sunday’s for Luzardo
Jesús Luzardo was scheduled to test his strained left shoulder by facing hitters.
It didn’t happen.
Given the possibility that the Phillies will need to win Sunday, the first day Luzardo is eligible to return from the injured list, the star lefty didn’t throw live batting practice so he could be available to come out of the bullpen against the Rays in the season finale.
“Everything’s in play at this point,” Mattingly said.
Luzardo hasn’t pitched since his 109-pitch shutout of the Braves on Sept. 7. He was shut down from throwing Sept. 11 and didn’t resume until Sept. 20. He threw roughly 30 pitches off a bullpen mound Thursday.
Mattingly doesn’t believe Luzardo is being rushed back.
“I only feel comfortable because everyone else feels comfortable, through medical, through him, through the pitching guys, watching his bullpen, all that stuff,” Mattingly said. “I would not want to be the guy making that decision just by what I see or what I want. It’s more about what everybody else is saying and what they think he’s capable of.”
Video: John Middleton discusses Dave Dombrowski’s future with the Phillies
Extra bases
Setup reliever Jonathan Bowlan (groin) is “doing good” after throwing a bullpen session Friday. Mattingly said he could be available to pitch Sunday. Bowlan hasn’t pitched since Sept. 17. … The Phillies are scheduled to face Rays righty Nick Martinez (15-5, 2.94 ERA) in the regular-season finale at 3:05 p.m. Sunday.
With the Phillies desperate to snap a three-game losing skid and clinch the final National League wild card, Nola will start — on two days’ rest — Saturday night against the Rays in Citizens Bank Park.
The Phillies discussed going with Zack Wheeler on three days’ rest, according to interim manager Don Mattingly, but settled on Nola because he typically throws 40- to 50-pitch bullpen sessions between starts, nearly twice as many as most starters.
“If anybody’s built for this, it’s probably Nola,” Mattingly said. “He is a guy who is more old-school than anybody.”
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The Phillies are down a starter because Jesús Luzardo remains on the injured list with a strained left shoulder. He’s eligible for reinstatement Sunday and will be available to pitch if the Phillies must win, Mattingly said. Wheeler is lined up to start Sunday’s season finale, but likely only if the Phillies haven’t clinched yet.
Mattingly said the Phillies briefed Nola on Thursday about the possibility of starting on short rest for the first time in his career. He skipped his scheduled bullpen session Friday and was informed after Friday night’s game that he would be starting.
It’s unclear how many pitches Nola will be able to throw against the Rays. He threw 88 and allowed four runs in six innings Wednesday night in a 4-1 loss to the Brewers, the first of three consecutive losses that kept the Phillies’ magic number frozen at two.
“Not necessarily a full start or anything like that,” said Mattingly, who cited 40 to 50 pitches as a “reasonable” goal, which could get him through the Rays’ order at least once. “He’s only had a couple of days off, so we’ll just see what it looks like and go from there.”
The Phillies’ lead over the Diamondbacks has dwindled to one game with two remaining. They can make the playoffs with any combination of wins and/or Arizona losses totaling two.
Nola, the longest-tenured Phillies player, started the 2022 wild-card clincher (in Game 160 in Houston). He has a 3.12 ERA in 89⅓ innings over his last 15 starts after posting a 6.04 ERA in 85 innings over his first 17 starts.
The day after Luis Arraez limped off the field, unable to put weight on his left leg, the report from the Phillies’ training room was summed up with four words.
“Not a great one,” interim manager Don Mattingly said.
An MRI on Friday confirmed the results of an X-ray the night before: Arraez has a sprained left ankle. Mattingly said he didn’t have specifics, including a classification (high or low) or degree of the sprain, but noted that Arraez was “stiff and sore.”
“We’ll see if, over the course of the day, it gets better,” Mattingly said. “See if he’s going to be able to do anything.”
Arraez was unavailable before Friday night’s series opener against the Rays.
If Arraez got hurt at any other point in the season, the Phillies likely would put him on the 10-day injured list. Doing so now would cause him to miss the three-game wild-card series and leave him ineligible until at least Oct. 5 — or Game 3 of the divisional round.
For now, then, the Phillies will hold off on a roster move. Mattingly said he would be “a little surprised” if Arraez is able to play over the weekend.
“You don’t feel great about it because he was so sore this morning,” he said. “It depends where it goes, but you could also see, in a couple days, if you feel a lot better, you could wrap it and see what happens.
“If it’s something that we know he’s not going to be able to play, then we’re going to have to [make a move]. You don’t want to play short. We’ll just see where it goes. We’ve got to give it a day.”
Phillies second baseman Luis Arraez was being treated Friday after spraining his left ankle Thursday night.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
In Arraez’s absence, Bryson Stott returned to second base and utilityman Edmundo Sosa started at third against the Rays. Mattingly chose to keep Alec Bohm at first base and Bryce Harper in right field.
Arraez was the Phillies’ headline addition at the Aug. 3 trade deadline, coming over from the Giants for two minor leaguers, including 21-year-old pitching prospect Ramon Marquez. The Phillies shuffled three-quarters of their infield to accommodate Arraez at second base.
In 46 games, all in the cleanup spot, Arraez is batting .278 with a .678 OPS for the Phillies. Overall, the three-time batting champion leads the National League with a .310 average, narrowly ahead of Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno (.308).
“Obviously Luis is a guy who can really, really hit, so it’s a blow to your offense,” Mattingly said. “He’s a guy that’s come in and got his hits. He’s been a kind of stabilizer, kind of mixes our lineup up a little bit. He’s a different kind of guy, so I think any time you lose a guy that’s hitting .300, getting on base, that type of thing, it hurts you.”
Said shortstop Trea Turner: “He’s kind of locked down that four hole for us and just kept the line moving. Whether people are on or he’s leading off, it feels like he’s making us a lot better. And the defense has been really good, too. So, I think that’s going to be a little bit of a blow.”
The Phillies continue to try to get Jesús Luzardo ready for the playoffs.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Luzardo on track
In more encouraging Phillies injury news, Jesús Luzardo didn’t report any problems with his left shoulder after throwing a bullpen session Thursday. He played catch in the outfield.
The Phillies are aiming for Luzardo to face hitters over the weekend, likely in a simulated game setting, to get him ready for the postseason.
One potential snag: It’s supposed to rain all weekend.
Mattingly said the Phillies have discussed contingencies, including finding an indoor space for Luzardo to face hitters. Luzardo hasn’t pitched in a game since a 109-pitch shutout of the Braves on Sept. 7.
“I don’t know if it’s a must,” Mattingly said, “but it would still be nice.”
Meanwhile, rain could play havoc with the Phillies’ final two regular-season games against the Rays, especially given the stakes. Entering play Friday, the Phillies needed any combination of two wins or Diamondbacks losses to clinch a playoff spot. Seeding was also up for grabs.
But while MLB preemptively scheduled doubleheaders Friday in Boston (Cubs-Red Sox) and New York (Orioles-Yankees), no such plans were made in Philadelphia.
“I guess it’s just coming further north,” Mattingly said. “But yeah, I heard there’s some [rain] coming.”
Video: Matt Klentak breaks down how the Phillies acquired Zack Wheeler and Cristopher Sánchez
Extra bases
Depending on the stakes, veteran lefty Nestor Cortes “could be” called up to eat innings over the weekend, Mattingly said. The Phillies took a flier on Cortes in August. The 31-year-old posted a 4.76 ERA over 5⅔ innings in triple A. He’s among a group of players who are participating in the Phillies’ “stay ready” camp in Allentown. … The Phillies haven’t named a starter for Saturday night, though recently acquired righty José Urquidy (2-2, 4.54 ERA) is expected to pitch multiple innings as part of a bullpen game. Right-hander Griffin Jax (8-10, 3.62) is scheduled to start for the Rays.
Let’s play a game of Name That Hitter, using statistical hints of batting average/on-base percentage/slugging and other relevant numbers through Thursday.
Hitter A is Bo Bichette, object of the Phillies’ desire in January when they offered the free-agent infielder a seven-year, $200 million contract. Bichette took the Mets’ bid of fewer years (three) but higher salary ($42 million annually, $126 million total), plus opt-outs after this season and next.
If they’d landed Bichette, the Phillies planned to trade Alec Bohm, according to multiple sources at the time. And Bohm happens to be Hitter B, with eerily similar production at a fraction of the salary ($10.2 million).
Sometimes, the best moves are ones that aren’t made.
This isn’t meant to suggest that Bohm had a particularly good season. The Phillies dropped him from the cleanup spot after two weeks and benched him for two games in early May. He had a .593 OPS through June 3. At the All-Star break, he was hitting .215 with a .278 on-base percentage and .632 OPS.
After a rough first half of the season, Phillies first baseman Alec Bohm has had more to smile about since the All-Star break.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
(It was even worse for Bohm off the field. In March, he sued his parents, alleging multimillion dollar mismanagement of his finances. They reached a settlement three weeks ago.)
But Bohm found salvation in the second half. Entering the weekend, he was batting .312 since the break, ninth in the majors, with an .824 OPS that was tied for 33rd.
“I was in a pretty deep hole early on, and I think I just chipped away,” said Bohm, who also moved from third base to first when the Phillies rearranged their infield after the deadline trade for Luis Arraez. “For me, it was kind of focusing less on, ‘What’s my batting average today?’ and more on, ‘All right, let’s go out and try to win a game today.’
“Just one of those things you can always look back on and never get too low or panic too much throughout a season. Right?”
It’s a mature perspective from a 30-year-old whose maturity has been questioned over the last six seasons. But it may also reflect the realization that these are likely his last days with the Phillies.
Bohm will be a free agent. And after the Phillies talked about trading him two offseasons ago and were poised to replace him with Bichette last winter, it would be a surprise if they didn’t let him walk out the door now.
It also makes Bohm the symbol of changes that may be coming to an organization that has been marked by extreme continuity since 2022. Barring a deep run through October, several longstanding players — as well as interim manager Don Mattingly — face a cloudy future at the corner of 11th and Pattison.
Since the start of the 2023 season, Phillies infielder Alec Bohm has driven in 341 runs, 18th-most in baseball.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Third degree
Bohm tends to get judged on things he doesn’t do well, notably his defense and a lack of home-run power for a mountain of a 6-foot-4, 218-pound man.
Yet as one scout said when Dave Dombrowski convened his top lieutenants at the trade deadline, “When you see a player every day, you have a tendency to look at their downside. But if you compare his numbers, how many guys have more RBIs than he does?”
Try 17 since 2023, including only one who plays for the Phillies (Kyle Schwarber). Entering the weekend, Bohm needed two RBIs to reach 90 for the third time in four seasons.
In a sense, then, Bohm represents an organizational success story. Drafted third overall out of college in 2018, developed through the farm system, and brought to the majors in 2020, he has averaged 564 plate appearances per year while batting .274, including a .315 mark with runners in scoring position. He was even an All-Star in 2024.
Along the way, Bohm got demoted to triple A in 2021 and nearly punched a ticket out of town early the next season. After committing three errors in three innings and getting roundly booed, he got caught on camera saying, “I (bleeping) hate this place.” He was contrite after the game and largely forgiven by the fan base.
If anything, the Phillies miscast Bohm as cleanup-hitting protection for Bryce Harper and overvalued him at his peak. But replacing him isn’t straightforward.
Aidan Miller once appeared poised to inherit third base from Bohm. But a back condition sidelined the 23-year-old top prospect until September and limited him to 34 plate appearances, including the postseason with double-A Reading.
Phillies top prospect Aidan Miller missed almost all of the season with a back condition.David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
The Phillies have scouted 27-year-old third baseman Teruaki Sato, who mashed 36 homers this season and 40 last year in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball. But he bats from the left side, like Harper and Schwarber (and Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh), and some major-league evaluators wonder if he’s better suited for first base.
Oh, and there’s always Bichette, who could opt-out of his Mets deal and reenter the market. But will he really walk away from that $42 million annual salary after a down year? And would the Phillies chase after him again after feeling spurned last winter?
Meanwhile, Bohm is playing out what’s left of his Phillies career back in the middle of the order as the hottest hitter down the stretch in an overall chilly month for the offense. He entered the weekend with a .319 average and .869 OPS in September; as a team, the Phillies were batting .225 with a .655 OPS this month.
“The numbers are what the numbers are,” Bohm said of turning his brutally slow start into a respectable finish. “Can’t really do much about it at this point. So, let’s try to go help the team win and contribute in some way. Getting lost in that for a while, they’ve found their way back to, I guess, more of the norm for myself.”
Phillies lefty reliever José Alvarado has had an inconsistent season.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Seeking relief
Just when the Phillies thought they could depend again on José Alvarado, he entered a 1-1 game in the eighth inning Thursday night and walked the leadoff batter before giving up a stolen base, an RBI single up the middle, and another single to left field.
How’s that for a snapshot of his tenure here?
Dombrowski became the Phillies’ president of baseball operations in December 2020. His first move was the three-way trade that brought Alvarado from the Rays. The big lefty has been dominant at times, injury-prone at others. He gave up the World Series-clinching homer to Houston’s Yordan Alvarez in 2022 and got suspended for 80 games last season for failing a drug test. But he also has unleashed the fifth-most pitches at 98 mph or more since 2021.
In all, Alvarado has a 3.86 ERA and 378 strikeouts and 152 walks in 293⅔ innings with the Phillies. Opponents have hit .227 against him; lefties have hit .219.
This season, lefties are batting .333 with an .865 OPS against Alvarado. Maybe he needs to come inside more to lefties. Maybe hitters are sitting on his signature sinker. Maybe he needs to throw more cutters.
In any case, as Mattingly decides whether he can trust Alvarado in the postseason, the Phillies face a longer-term decision about whether to bring him back (again) in free agency.
Orion Kerkering can’t be a free agent until after the 2029 season. But the righty is eligible for salary arbitration for the first time. And after posting a 9.43 ERA since the All-Star break, including a 10.66 mark since the middle of August, he became “unusable,” in Mattingly’s words.
The Phillies demoted Kerkering to triple A last weekend, prompting a larger question: Would a change of scenery be best for everyone involved?
Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering got demoted to triple A last week.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Let’s come back to that.
The Phillies drafted Kerkering in 2022 and brought him to the majors 14 months later after he climbed four levels of the farm system in one season. Thrust into high-leverage situations in October, he faltered in the 2023 NL Championship Series against Arizona.
Even so, Kerkering dominated for stretches in each of the last three seasons, looking at times like a closer-in-waiting. But he was complicit in the bullpen meltdown in the 2024 divisional round against the Mets and made the ill-fated throwing error that ended last season in Game 4 at Dodger Stadium.
So, about that change of scenery. It’ll surely be a topic during the Phillies’ organizational meetings after the season.
For now, they sent Kerkering to Allentown to continue pitching at their “stay ready” camp, although he’s ineligible for a call-up until Oct. 6 unless there’s an injury.
“It looks like he needs a break to get away from here,” Dombrowski said. “Sometimes you need to step away.”
The Phillies haven’t removed the “interim” label from manager Don Mattingly’s title.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
About the manager
Earlier this week, the Mets and Red Sox removed the interim label from managers Andy Green and Chad Tracy, respectively, with each receiving a three-year contract to stay at the wheel of those clubs.
Has there been more thought to Mattingly’s future in the dugout beyond this season?
“No, there has not been,” Dombrowski said in a text message. “[We] have felt it is better to wait until our season is complete.”
That has been the Phillies’ stance since April 28, when they elevated Mattingly from bench coach after firing Rob Thomson. But the lack of commitment to Mattingly has only fueled speculation throughout the sport that the managerial seat is being held for Alex Cora.
Dombrowski hired Cora with the Red Sox, and they won the World Series in their first season together in 2018. They remain close friends, with Dombrowski calling Cora “one of the finest managers in the game of baseball” and comparing him favorably to Hall of Fame managers Jim Leyland and Tony La Russa.
The Red Sox fired Cora on April 25 amid a 10-17 start. Dombrowski offered him the Phillies’ job the next day, even though he had not yet let Thomson go. Cora, who will be paid by the Red Sox through the end of the next season, opted to take time with his family.
How’s that for palace intrigue?
Video: John Middleton on what led to Rob Thomson’s dismissal
Mattingly, 65, is under contract with the Phillies for another year and has expressed interest in staying on as the manager. His son, Preston, is the general manager under Dombrowski.
In 2022, the Phillies took the interim tag off Thomson and gave him a two-year contract after winning the wild-card miniseries. How many rounds would the team need to win for Mattingly to receive similar treatment?
Just in case you thought the Phillies only lost a game Thursday night, there was Luis Arraez, unable to put weight on his left leg as he limped off the field.
And now, it’s unclear if he will play again this season.
Diagnosed with a sprained left ankle after landing on it awkwardly to avoid a tag at first base while legging out a grounder in the sixth inning, Arraez’s availability will hinge on how he responds to treatment. X-rays were negative, according to interim manager Don Mattingly.
“We’ll see more, we’ll know more [Friday],” Mattingly said after the Phillies’ latest attempt to clinch a wild card was foiled with a 5-1 loss to the Brewers. “We’ll see what happens, see how he walks in, or talk to him [Friday].”
Closing in on his fourth batting title with a National League-leading .310 average, Arraez is hitting .278 with a .309 on-base percentage for the Phillies since they traded for him at the Aug. 3 deadline. He has been the cleanup hitter in all 44 of his starts.
The Phillies rearranged three-quarters of their infield to accommodate Arraez at second base. If he’s unable to play in the last three regular-season games against the Rays and (maybe) beyond, they could shuffle everything again, possibly even moving Bryce Harper back to first base from right field.
“Yeah,” Harper said. “I’ll do anything.”
When Arraez left the game, the Phillies moved Bryson Stott back to second base, inserted Edmundo Sosa at third, and kept Alec Bohm at first base and Harper in right field. Mattingly mentioned that as one potential alignment.
“I think it’s just putting our full effort in as a lineup and saying it’s the next-man-up mentality,” Harper said. “Sosa’s been great for us all year. So, if he’s in the lineup, obviously he’s going to be our guy even in the short term.”
Luis Arraez was helped off the field after spraining his ankle in the sixth inning Thursday.Matt Rourke
Another possibility includes Bryan De La Cruz in right field, Harper at first base, and Bohm at third. The Rays are scheduled to start three left-handed pitchers, which likely keeps lefty-hitting Brandon Marsh in the lineup.
In any case, the Phillies must generate more offense. Even with Arraez, they scored once in each of the last two games against the Brewers after scoring three runs in five consecutive games last week against the Nationals and Mets.
Trea Turner said it would be “rough” if the Phillies must play without Arraez.
“He’s kind of locked down that four hole for us and just keep the line moving,” Turner said. “Whether people are on or he’s leading off, it feels like he’s making us a lot better. And the defense has been really good, too. So, I think that’s going to be a little bit of a blow.”
Arraez was trying to beat out a grounder to shortstop when Cooper Pratt’s throw pulled Jake Bauers off the first base bag. As Arraez tried to dodge the tag, he appeared to twist his ankle and fell to the ground in pain.
In an equally cruel twist, Arraez was called out when the umpires said he ran out of the baseline. Mattingly contested that Arraez’s last step before passing Bauers was in the box attached to the baseline.
“So, no matter how far he moves, for me, he’s in the box,” Mattingly said. “Now, if I’m wrong on that, I’m wrong. But he’s still inside that box. … I’ve always felt like you can run in that box all day long and do whatever. So, yeah, I don’t get that one.”
Don Mattingly tried to downplay it at first, but even he was unable to hold the poker face.
“I mean,” he said, “it was a regular bullpen.”
Everyone knew there wasn’t anything “regular” about the 30-ish pitches that Jesús Luzardo threw in the Phillies’ bullpen Thursday, the first time he pitched from a mound in 13 days because of inflammation in his left shoulder.
Luzardo wasn’t about to make any declarations, noting that Friday is “a big day to see how I bounce back.” But all signs point to the All-Star lefty being ready to pitch in the postseason, with the Phillies on the precipice of locking up a National League wild card.
“I feel really good, healthy,” Luzardo said. “Everything keeps trending in the right direction, so I think the chances are good.”
Barring a setback, Luzardo is expected to face hitters, likely in a simulated game setting, over the weekend. He’s eligible to come off the injured list Sunday before the regular-season finale.
It’s unclear whether Luzardo will be ready to start a game in the best-of-three wild-card series. He hasn’t appeared in a game since a 109-pitch shutout of the Braves on Sept. 7. But the Phillies are hopeful that he will at least be able to come out of the bullpen.
Jesus Luzardo’s last start was a 109-pitch complete-game shutout of the Braves on Sept. 7.David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
“Whatever role they need me at,” Luzardo said. “If they need me [for] one inning, two innings out of the bullpen, three innings, I could start, I could be the bat boy. Whatever they ask of me, I’ll do. I just want to win, so it doesn’t matter.”
Just having Luzardo available at all would be a relief.
The Phillies’ strength is their trio of ace starters: Zack Wheeler and lefties Cristopher Sánchez and Luzardo. The team is 63-25 in their starts, including 21-8 with Luzardo on the mound.
Luzardo has been among the best pitchers in the sport for five months. Only the Brewers’ Jacob Misiorowski, favored to win the Cy Young Award, has a better ERA than Luzardo’s 1.93 mark since May 11.
Overall, Luzardo has a 2.87 ERA and 221 strikeouts in 178⅔ innings.
Even Luzardo wasn’t sure he would progress so rapidly.
“I feel like I’m a pretty optimistic thinker, so I think this was the plan in my head,” he said, crediting physical therapist Alex Plum, strength coach Morgan Gregory, and the athletic training staff. “Obviously, injuries are hard to really tell where they’re going to go and how your body’s going to react. But I was pretty optimistic the whole way, and I was hoping that it would go as it is now.”
Mattingly doesn’t typically oversee bullpen sessions. But he stood alongside pitching coach Caleb Cotham to observe Luzardo, who threw every pitch in his repertoire in the bullpen with his normal intensity.
Jesus Luzardo has a 1.93 ERA since May 11.David Maialetti / Staff Photographer
“I don’t think he was out there just like tossing the ball trying to get it to the plate,” Mattingly said. “The strikes felt good. He’s feeling good. He wasn’t shaking his shoulder during the bullpen or anything like that, so all signs are going in the right direction.”
Said Luzardo: “I was letting it go like a normal bullpen, kind of treating it as if we were ramping up for a normal start. It was coming out well, nice and easy, and I definitely wasn’t soft-tossing it up there. There was some intent behind it.”
Wheeler and Sánchez, in some order, are expected to start Game 1 and 2 of the wild-card series. Aaron Nola would be lined up for Game 3. Luzardo could continue to build stamina during the wild-card round while aiding a bullpen that lacks dependable setup options for closer Jhoan Duran.
“I already had 180 innings and built up to 100 pitches a lot of times this year,” Luzardo said. “I think it was six days off from throwing. So, I don’t think it creates that much rest.
“Definitely the last two weeks have been pretty stressful. I want to compete and be there for the guys, so it was frustrating at times. But definitely a relief just feeling good.”
Video: Matt Klentak breaks down how the Phillies acquired Zack Wheeler and Cristopher Sánchez
Extra bases
Setup reliever Jonathan Bowlan (groin) played catch after a light bullpen session Wednesday. Bowlan hasn’t appeared in a game since Sept. 17, but Mattingly said he would be comfortable using the big righty in a postseason game even if he doesn’t pitch over the weekend. … Double-A shortstop Bryan Rincon, who received the Phillies’ Paul Owens Award as the top position player in the farm system, credited major-league hitting coach Kevin Long for “a couple of tips” in spring training. Rincon finished with 26 homers and 30 steals and led Reading to the Eastern League championship. … Sánchez (18-6, 2.93 ERA) is lined up to start at 6:40 p.m. Friday against Rays righty Freddy Peralta (9-11, 4.56).
Don Mattingly didn’t want to tempt fate. So, in revealing that Andrew Painter will start Thursday night instead of Friday, he explained that the Phillies merely prefer to keep the rookie on regular rest.
But there’s another factor at play.
By keeping Painter on turn rather than giving him extra rest — as they did last week in New York against the Mets — the Phillies could line him up to come out of the bullpen for one inning over the weekend in lieu of a side session in preparation for a potential relief role in the postseason.
And if the Phillies had clinched a wild card, Mattingly surely would’ve discussed the plan for Painter as a postseason reliever. But they still needed to beat the Brewers on Wednesday night and get a loss from either the Diamondbacks or the Padres.
“There’s really no plan at this point for what we’re going to do,” Mattingly said. “Just win tonight, and then we can talk about it.”
Painter hasn’t pitched in a relief role in his brief career, although the 23-year-old righty did follow an opener twice early in the season. He gave up one run in five innings April 12 against the Diamondbacks and allowed five runs in five innings June 12 against the Brewers.
In his last 10 starts, Andrew Painter has allowed only 43 hits in 55⅔ innings and posted a 3.88 ERA.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
But the Phillies are trying to fortify the bridge to closer Jhoan Duran, especially with setup reliever Jonathan Bowlan sidelined by a right groin strain. Last weekend, Dave Dombrowski said “some of our starters are going to end up in the bullpen” for the wild-card round.
Painter, who isn’t lined up to start in the best-of-three miniseries, would be a logical candidate to fill that role. And the Phillies would surely feel more comfortable using him out of the bullpen if they can give him a relief appearance before the end of the season.
“[I’d] be able to rear back a little bit and let it eat a little bit more,” Painter said recently. “I’m sure velo would tick up a little bit, and we’ll be able to just empty the tank.”
In 24 appearances, Painter is 3-10 with a 5.59 ERA. He has been more effective since returning July 31 from a brief stint back in triple A. In his last 10 starts, he has allowed only 43 hits in 55⅔ innings and posted a 3.88 ERA.
Although Jesús Luzardo tested his sore left shoulder by playing catch for a fourth consecutive day, he had what Mattingly called “more of a recovery day.” The Phillies haven’t disclosed when he will throw from a mound.
“We just have to see how he feels [Thursday],” Mattingly said, “and then listen to [athletic trainer] Paul [Buchheit] and see what he says he can do.”
Luzardo, who hasn’t pitched since a 109-pitch complete game Sept. 7 against the Braves, is eligible to return from the injured list Sunday. The Phillies remain hopeful that he will be able to pitch in the postseason in some capacity, perhaps out of the bullpen.
Zack Wheeler surpassed his 2,000th career strikeout during his start on Tuesday.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Mr. 2,000
By striking out the side in the first inning Tuesday night, Zack Wheeler became the 10th active pitcher — and the 96th pitcher ever — to reach 2,000 strikeouts.
“It’s really cool, special,” Wheeler said. “Some of the guys asked me in here, ‘Would you have ever thought [of reaching 2,000 strikeouts]? The answer is no. Getting into the league, trying to get your feet under you, trying to last, game to game early on. Just trying to stay up in the big leagues and trying to figure out how to throw strikes. That was hard for me. Just being where I am now, it’s pretty special.”
Early in his career, after coming up with the Mets, Wheeler missed nearly two seasons after Tommy John elbow surgery and setbacks in his recovery. But since he signed with the Phillies in 2020, Wheeler has a 2.93 ERA in 184 starts and more wins above replacement (36.5, according to FanGraphs) than any pitcher in the sport.
Video: Matt Klentak breaks down how the Phillies acquired Zack Wheeler and Cristopher Sánchez
Extra bases
Bowlan threw lightly off a bullpen mound. “It tells you he’s feeling pretty good,” said Mattingly, who didn’t disclose plans to get Bowlan into a game before the end of the regular season. … The Phillies topped 3 million fans in total attendance Tuesday night. It marked the fourth consecutive season that they reached that mark. … The Brewers haven’t named a starter for the series finale, but righty Bryse Wilson (0-0, 3.67) is a possibility. Wilson began the season in triple A with the Phillies and made one major-league appearance before getting designated for assignment in June.
In his four seasons as an advisor in the Brewers’ front office, Milwaukee has won four consecutive National League Central crowns. This year, the Brew Crew has the best record in baseball and is closing in on the top seed in the NL playoffs.
As the Brewers came to town this week, Klentak, 46, joined Phillies Extra, The Inquirer’s baseball podcast, to discuss his time with the Phillies and the Brewers’ success.
Watch the full interview below and subscribe to the Phillies Extra podcaston Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Q: The Brewers were probably the runner-up in the Tarik Skubal derby at the trade deadline. Can you describe the actuarial exercise of determining the level of risk that you might have been willing to take on for a great pitcher while also being wary of giving up too much?
A: I think just about every general manager, front office person would tell you that in just about every decision you’re making, there is some degree of balancing the present and the future. And how you balance that may differ based on a variety of factors. … For the nature of our market and the way we build our rosters, we typically put a lot of focus on the future because we know that for this franchise to be successful in the way that we have been, the way that we want to be in the future, we need to continue to have that pipeline of young players come into the big leagues year after year. So we know that.
Having said that, we very much recognized that this was somewhat of a unique year for us, given where we were in the standings, given the construction of our roster, given the strength of the farm system, and given how hard it is to reach the World Series and win the World Series. We did recognize that … and that’s frankly the reason that we went right down to the wire in the trade discussions for Tarik Skubal.
Why the Tigers opted to go with a different package of players vs. ours vs. any other teams, we may never know the answer to that. Was it frustrating in the moment? Sure. The thing was, in looking back on it, it was actually helpful for us was that trade took place several days before the actual [Aug. 3] deadline, so we had time to recover and pivot, and we ended up making the trade with the Cardinals [for starter Dustin May], making a trade with the Rockies [for reliever Antonio Senzatela]. We did a few things afterwards, not to add Tarik Skubal but to bolster our pitching in other ways. … But I think there are some years where it calls for a little bit more aggression and maybe a little bit more focus on the present. And there are other times when it probably is not as prudent to sink a lot of resources into the present and make sure you’re protecting your future a little bit, and that’s going to change from year to year.
Matt Klentak spent five years as Phillies general manager.
Q: As the Phillies close in on a fifth year in a row in the playoffs, I wonder how you feel about the success that they have, and whether you feel at all a part of that?
A: With each passing year, there are fewer and fewer players on the roster that I overlapped with. … I was in Pittsburgh for our clincher and ended up running into [reliever] JoJo Romero and spending a bunch of time with JoJo Romero, who was drafted when I was with the Phillies and came up. So, there are still quite a few players throughout the league from my Phillies time.
But yeah, there’s only whatever a small handful that are still on the club. Mostly, I’m happy for that group, that specific group of players you’re talking about, but also for the organization. Because that was always the goal was to build something that would … be good and that would stay good for a long time. And I happened to be a part of the first part of that, helping to build the roster and I’m not there now as the sustained winning has taken place over the last few years. But I’m just happy that has worked out as well as it has for the players, some of whom have really seen their careers advance to another level, which has been great. But also for ownership and fans and all the people in the front office that I worked with that are still there. It’s a hell of a lot more fun to win than to go through the rebuild like we did for a few years, and I’m glad for the organization that everybody’s getting to enjoy these winning seasons like this.
One of Matt Klentak’s best moves with the Phillies was trading for an unheralded pitching prospect named Cristopher Sánchez.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Q: Is the Zack Wheeler signing and the Cristopher Sánchez trade the two moves that you are most proud of from your time with the Phillies?
A: I appreciate you calling out the good ones and casually omitting some of the ones that didn’t work out. Any time whether you’re sitting in the GM chair in Philly or more of an advisory chair like I am in Milwaukee, but any time that we make decisions, you’re trying to use the information you have to make the best decision you can in the moment based on the information and the resources that you have. So, in virtually all instances, whether the transaction works out really well or OK or not well at all, in the moment, you probably felt good about making the decision. And I would say that about those two transactions you brought up. … They themselves were very different transactions. Wheeler was [$118 million] free-agent signing, which was not one of the bigger free-agent signings in that offseason. There were some bigger ones for sure, but nonetheless, $100 million for a pitcher is still a big investment.
Whereas Sánchez was a pretty unrecognizable name outside of the scouting community. He was not on top 100 lists, and neither was Curtis Mead, who we traded for Sánchez. So they were very different in terms of profile. These were two very different types of transactions.
Video: Matt Klentak breaks down how the Phillies acquired Zack Wheeler and Cristopher Sánchez
… Wheeler had been in the big leagues for six years. A few of those were injury years, but he had been in the big leagues. He had more of a track record, but the prevailing thought was that there was more in that tank. We hadn’t quite seen him peak yet, and maybe because he had missed the amount of time that he had with injury, that maybe there are fewer innings on his ledger, and there might be more upside there in the future.
And with Sánchez, it was more of taking a chance on a gangly young lefty that doesn’t always know how all the parts are going to fit together. But if you squint, you can see that coming together. And in both cases, give a ton of credit first to the players for their work habits — they’re the ones throwing the pitches. So you always have to start with that. But behind the scenes … I think you have to give a lot of credit to the pitching coaches and analysts and those that are helping these players through, in Zack’s case, coming off of a … very significant surgery, and in Sanchez’s case, going from a true unknown to one of the best pitchers in the league. There are a lot of twists and turns along the way in both of those journeys, and the support those guys have received from various members of the organization should be recognized as well.
It’s all but inevitable now. But until the Phillies actually clinch a wild card, they will insist every game is akin to the postseason, in terms of significance and urgency.
In case you’re wondering, then, how Mattingly will run a game next week — and beyond, if the Phillies move on — consider the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings Tuesday night in a 6-4 victory over the majors-leading Brewers that pushed them to the verge of a sudsy celebration.
After Zack Wheeler became the 96th pitcher ever to record 2,000 career strikeouts but also fumbled a three-run lead, the Phillies broke a tie by scoring three runs with two out in the eighth inning. Bryson Stott delivered the big hit, an RBI double, and the Brewers kicked around the ball to allow another run to score.
The Phillies lowered their magic number to clinch a wild card to two over the Diamondbacks, who defeated the Colorado Rockies late Tuesday. They can spray champagne as soon as Wednesday night with a victory and an Arizona loss.
NL wild-card standings
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“That’s what we show up for and grind every single day for,” said Brandon Marsh, who interrupted a dreadful second-half slump with his first homer since Aug. 13 and a tack-on RBI double in the eighth inning. “Obviously it’s to win at the end of the day, but to end up holding that trophy at the end of the year.”
Actually, Alex McFarlane already has. Sort of.
While the rookie right-hander was getting five outs in a game for the first time in the majors — central to Mattingly’s plan for managing the late innings in the postseason — his minor-league teammates until the All-Star break were winning the Eastern League championship for double-A Reading.
Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler pitches in the second inning of the Milwaukee Brewers vs. Philadelphia Phillies MLB baseball game at Citzens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Tuesday, September 22, 2026.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff PhotographerDespite the tag by Phillies Luis Arraez Brewers David Hamilton is called safe at second with a stolen base in the sixth inning of the Milwaukee Brewers vs. Philadelphia Phillies MLB baseball game at Citzens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Tuesday, September 22, 2026.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff PhotographerPhillies Zack Wheeler before coming out of the game in the sixth inning of the Milwaukee Brewers vs. Philadelphia Phillies MLB baseball game at Citzens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Tuesday, September 22, 2026.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff PhotographerPhillies Alec Bohm and Luis Arraez (right) after scoring in the eighth inning of the Milwaukee Brewers vs. Philadelphia Phillies MLB baseball game at Citzens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Tuesday, September 22, 2026.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff PhotographerPhillies pitcher Zack Wheeler licks his fingers while pitching in the second inning of the Milwaukee Brewers vs. Philadelphia Phillies MLB baseball game at Citzens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Tuesday, September 22, 2026.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff PhotographerPhillies Brandon Marsh greets Luis Arraez at home plate after Arraez scored on a single by Bryson Stott in the eighth inning of the Milwaukee Brewers vs. Philadelphia Phillies MLB baseball game at Citzens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Tuesday, September 22, 2026.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff PhotographerPhillies coach Don Mattingly speaks with pitcher Tim Mayza after Mayza replaced Zack Wheeler in the sixth inning of the Milwaukee Brewers vs. Philadelphia Phillies MLB baseball game at Citzens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Tuesday, September 22, 2026.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff PhotographerPhillies interim manager Don Mattingly hands the ball to pitcher Tim Mayza after making a pitching change in the sixth inning of the Milwaukee Brewers vs. Philadelphia Phillies MLB baseball game at Citzens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Tuesday, September 22, 2026.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff PhotographerPhillies Brandon Marsh signals to the dugout after hitting a one run double in the eighth inning of the Milwaukee Brewers vs. Philadelphia Phillies MLB baseball game at Citzens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Tuesday, September 22, 2026.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff PhotographerPhillies Brandon Marsh after hitting a two run home run in the second inning of the Milwaukee Brewers vs. Philadelphia Phillies MLB baseball game at Citzens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Tuesday, September 22, 2026.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Does McFarlane expect to receive a ring?
“I hope so,” he said, laughing.
McFarlane will factor into the Phillies’ chances, too. Mattingly turned to him in a tie game in the seventh inning, and instead of shaking his hand after a scoreless 15-pitch frame, he sent him back out for more.
In total, McFarlane recorded five outs — on 21 pitches — and kept the game tied.
“Obviously he’s been really good,” Mattingly said after McFarlane’s ERA dipped to 2.12 in 17 appearances since getting called up. “His stuff’s really, really good. But more than anything, he’s handled everything. Just his demeanor around the clubhouse, the way he’s able to get himself ready, he can check himself and not throw a ton of pitches down there, so he stays fresh. He’s been huge.”
It’s a lot of responsibility to place on the right shoulder of a 25-year-old who left Reading only in mid-July. But what choice does Mattingly have?
Setup reliever Brad Keller was lost to season-ending elbow surgery in July. The Phillies didn’t make meaningful additions to the bullpen at the trade deadline. And Keller’s replacement, Jonathan Bowlan, is trying to make it back from a right groin strain that would’ve landed him on the injured list if the playoffs weren’t starting next week.
It was McFarlane, then, who got the ball to lefty José Alvarado against lefty-hitting Brice Turang for the final out of the eighth inning.
“I’m prepared for anything until [Mattingly] tells me I’m done,” McFarlane said. “I just went out there with that mentality. It felt great to go out there, come out in the eighth inning, and try to get the team into the ninth.”
But while Mattingly plans to use McFarlane as the main link in the bridge to closer Jhoan Duran, it’s also clear he will ride his starters — Wheeler and Cristopher Sánchez, in particular — longer than most managers typically do in October.
Consider the sixth inning against the Brewers. Clutching a 3-1 lead, as lefty Tim Mayza loosened in the bullpen and Wheeler gave up a leadoff single and a one-out walk, Mattingly stuck with his ace righty against dangerous William Contreras with the tying run in scoring position.
Wheeler’s first pitch of the at-bat — his 96th of the game — was a low-and-inside sinker. Contreras hit it off his shoe tops and into left field for a two-run single to tie the game.
Wheeler is the 10th active pitcher with 2,000 strikeouts. Also: Verlander, Scherzer, Sale, Cole, Gausman, Darvish, Gray, deGrom, Nola. pic.twitter.com/CaQORiN5Y0
“I wanted to go in, but it was down,” Wheeler said. “I wanted it kind of more up, you know? Down’s a little easier to hit than up. That’s probably what I was most upset about tonight — and probably the pitch I hate the most so far this season.”
Otherwise, there was a lot to like about what may be Wheeler’s final regular-season start. He’s lined up to start Sunday, but the Phillies almost certainly will skip him to line him up for Game 1 or 2 of the wild-card miniseries Tuesday or Wednesday.
Wheeler struck out the first seven batters, surpassing by one Brandon Duckworth’s 24-year-old club record for whiffs to begin a game. Wheeler’s third strikeout of the game was the 2,000th of his career.
Zack Wheeler threw 101 pitches in his start on Tuesday.Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
“It’s really cool, special,” Wheeler said. “Some of the guys asked me in here, ‘Would you have ever thought [of reaching 2,000 strikeouts]? The answer is no. Getting into the league, trying to get your feet under you, trying to last, game to game early on. Just trying to stay up in the big leagues and trying to figure out how to throw strikes. That was hard for me. Just being where I am now, it’s pretty special.”
All that’s missing is a World Series championship.
As the Phillies close in on a playoff spot, their pitching plan — heavy on the starters and an impressively calm rookie reliever — is taking shape.
