Author: Scott Lauber

WASHINGTON — If Jesús Luzardo starts again for the Phillies this season — suddenly an enormous “if” — it almost certainly won’t be until the playoffs.

Luzardo went on the 15-day injured list, the Phillies announced here Tuesday, because the stiffness in his inflamed left shoulder lingered after three days of not throwing. The All-Star left-hander isn’t eligible to return until the last day of the regular season.

“Definitely concerned just because I want to get back for the team and be ready for the postseason,” said Luzardo, seated in the dugout at Nationals Park. “Level of concern for the future is not that high. I know it’s something that’ll go away with time.

“But right now we don’t have much time.”

It’s a critical, perhaps even fatal blow to the Phillies, whose chance of making a deep run through the postseason likely hinges on their big three starters: Luzardo, Cristopher Sánchez, and Zack Wheeler. Luzardo, in fact, has a 1.93 ERA since May 11, second-lowest in the majors in that span behind the Brewers’ Jacob Misiorowski (1.76). The Phillies are 18-3 in his last 21 starts.

Luzardo hoped he would be ready to resume throwing Tuesday after getting scratched from a start last weekend in Atlanta. But after two hours of treatment and testing on the team’s day off Monday, neither he nor the Phillies were comfortable moving forward.

“Just knowing where I was at [Monday], we kind of came together, but I really told them I don’t feel comfortable throwing,” Luzardo said. “I know where we’re at. I know it’s an important part of the season. I want to be out there for the guys, but I feel like I’d be doing a disservice to them if I’m not at my best.”

At his best, Luzardo earned Cy Young Award votes, with a 2.87 ERA and a career-high 221 strikeouts in 178⅔ innings. Despite saying he feels “way, way better” than last week, his caution now is a contrast to what he said last Saturday: “If today was Game 7 of the World Series, I’m throwing no matter what.”

“Competitors say things they probably maybe wouldn’t want to say,” interim manager Don Mattingly said Tuesday. “But I definitely think we’re being cautious and we’re being careful. I don’t think anybody wants to send a guy out there that’s not basically 100% ready to compete, and that’s kind of I feel like where we’re at.”

So, what now for the 28-year-old ace?

Luzardo, who signed a five-year, $135 million contract extension in spring training, said he doesn’t plan on getting an injection. He outlined the ideal scenario: “A couple of days of throwing pain-free; getting off the mound once, maybe twice; for sure, I want to touch the mound before getting out there.”

The wild-card series is scheduled to open Sept. 29.

Is Luzardo confident he can be ready?

“Guaranteed,” he said. “I say ‘guaranteed,’ like, in my mind I can say I will [be ready]. I can’t say 100%, ‘Oh yeah, I’m going to start for this team.’ But that’s the goal. And I feel confident that I can make that happen.”

First, the Phillies have to qualify for the playoffs. Going into Tuesday night, they were one-half game behind the Cubs for the top National League wild card and had a 3½-game cushion over the Diamondbacks for the final wild card.

The Phillies hadn’t decided how to fill Luzardo’s turn in the rotation, Mattingly said. They could move up Andrew Painter to start on regular rest Friday night in New York against the Mets. Even so, they will need to piece together at least one bullpen game, probably two.

One possibility: Veteran lefty Nestor Cortes was slated to pitch two innings Tuesday night in triple A. He could be moving closer to joining the Phillies after signing a minor-league contract last month.

For now, the Phillies called up lefty Kyle Backhus to occupy the roster spot vacated by Luzardo.

But the state of Luzardo’s shoulder remains the chief concern.

Luzardo threw a 109-pitch complete-game shutout in his last start, a Labor Day matinee against the Braves. He pushed back on the idea that the shoulder soreness stemmed from that start.

“If I would have thrown six innings in that game, it still would have been the same,” he said. “Throughout the whole game I felt great. Throughout that night [also]. The next day I came out, played catch, felt great. It was something that I think just compounded throughout a couple of starts, and we are where we are at now. But I don’t think the innings or the pitches made a difference that day.

“I think it’s just a long season. Everyone goes through a little something. I feel like everyone is battling here and there. A couple of starts [ago], I was feeling it, but no big deal. And then a couple of starts in a row and then this last start really kind of just, I felt like it blew up on me, and that’s where we’re at.

“If this was March, June, July, no big deal. I’d probably take my time to come back and be ready to go. But such a compressed timetable with the postseason coming up, we’re kind of in a race for it. So, I definitely want to do everything in my power to get back on the field for the guys.”

Extra bases

Kyle Schwarber is the Phillies’ nominee for MLB’s Roberto Clemente Award, presented annually to the player who “best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.” … The Phillies will send nine minor leaguers to the Arizona Fall League, including outfielder Dante Nori and infielder Aroon Escobar. Top prospect Aidan Miller likely will be added to the list, but the Phillies haven’t decided on an offseason plan for him yet. … Minor-league infielder Christian Cairo, designated for assignment last week, was claimed by the Mets. Cairo, 25, batted .227 with four homers and a .676 OPS in 128 games in triple A. … Zack Wheeler (12-5, 3.14 ERA) is scheduled to start at 6:45 p.m. Wednesday against Nationals righty Cade Cavalli (12-5, 3.12).

Trea Turner pulled his hands in, turned on the hanging sweeper from Paul Skenes, and lifted it into the left-field seats. It was July 1, the third game in a row that he got two hits and homered.

His numbers at day’s end: .239/.287/.368.

“They’re not going to look good,” Turner said then of his batting average and on-base and slugging percentages, “probably no matter what I do, for a while.”

Ten weeks later, it’s evident the Phillies’ $300 million shortstop’s stat line will never look good.

At least not this season.

In baseball, nothing brings more comfort to struggling superstars than their track record. The season is so long, and failure is so common, that sometimes it’s all they have. Maybe that’s why the numbers are printed on the back of bubble-gum cards, as a reminder.

And even if the path is filled with potholes, the best players usually reach their standards. In Turner’s case, a .291 average and .812 OPS since he got to the majors 11 years ago with the Nationals. He’s a three-time All-Star, a two-time batting champion, and twice a fifth-place MVP finisher, including last year. Only Freddie Freeman has more hits in the 2020s.

Occasionally, though, the slumps get too deep and last too long and a season is unsalvageable. For Turner, a .241 average and .681 OPS through Thursday qualify as career worsts. Factor in defense — he led all players with 20 errors — and he was valued at only 1.1 wins above replacement, tied for 113th among 143 players with a minimum of 450 plate appearances.

Turner, 33, knows all this. Maybe too well. Intelligent and self-aware, he’s prone to overthinking. And while he believed earlier in the season that he could boost his production to its typical level, he also realized weeks ago that he was running out of time.

Yet that doesn’t mean that his season is lost, because the Phillies are closing in on the postseason for the fifth consecutive year. Entering the weekend, they were one game ahead of the Cubs for the top NL wild card and still within sight of the Braves for the NL East crown.

And for Turner, the playoffs represent an opportunity to redeem a substandard regular season.

“Nobody’s going to remember if he had a bad April, a good May, a bad June if we play well down the stretch,” said interim manager Don Mattingly, who has stuck with Turner in the No. 2 spot in the order. “Nobody ever remembers anything besides that. I think you see guys like [Turner] who have been around long enough, they know they don’t stop trying to get better and feel right.”

So, Turner buries his head in an iPad to analyze video from each at-bat. He swings in the cage with hitting coach Kevin Long before and after batting practice, with grounders from infield coach Bobby Dickerson in between.

“If you get to know Trea a little bit, he does think a lot and he puts a lot of pressure on himself,” Dickerson said. “He wants answers scientifically a lot of times, and he starts to search for that more than actually playing the game, which is what he does well. When he lets his skills show up on the field, plays aggressively, we get a better version of him. And we’ve seen it.”

Turner’s hard-hit rate, defined as pitches that exit his bat at 95 mph or more, was 39.7% entering the weekend, down from 42.1% last season. He also swung at a higher rate of pitches out of the strike zone (34.8%, up from 31.2% last year) and was more susceptible to curveballs and sliders (.207 average, down from .250).

But Turner also had hit into some rotten luck, including a .281 average on balls in play (compared to .350 last season). He was hitting .427 on balls that had an exit velocity of 95 mph or more; league average was .488.

Turner’s search for answers led to a meeting with Ichiro Suzuki when the Phillies played in Seattle in late August. And he peppered the Hall of Famer with questions. How do you hit the ball the other way? What’s your approach in certain situations? If you’re doing this wrong, what would you do?

“I didn’t realize but kind of now looking at it, we’re pretty similar in our games in the sense that he didn’t walk a lot, he wanted to hit, hit the ball all over the field, could hit it out of the park sometimes,” Turner said. “Talking with him and his mindset and what he physically does, a lot of it kind of applied to me in my game. So, it was kind of nice.”

Maybe it helped. Because entering the weekend, Turner had 14 hits, including five doubles and two homers, in 13 games since the series in Seattle. He went deep in back-to-back games this week against the Astros and drove the ball the other way to right field for two hits Wednesday night.

It’s too late to rescue Turner’s season statistically. But after months of wondering whether any trace of a hot streak represented a return to normalcy, maybe it’s a building block for October.

“He’s handled it very well for the caliber of the player he is,” Kyle Schwarber said. “You see a guy that has had so much success in the big leagues, and he might not be getting the results. But it’s really refreshing to see a guy at his age, how much he’s been through in this game, you see him keep grinding. You can’t say enough about him.”

It’s not like Turner is alone. Across the sport, other underachievers may get a chance for an October rewrite. Call them the Second Chance All-Stars, players who can erase six frustrating months with a few strong weeks.

1. Kyle Tucker, Dodgers: Even after coming within a triple of hitting for the cycle Wednesday, he entered the weekend batting .225 with a .684 OPS, full-season career worsts in his first year in Los Angeles — all for the low, low average annual salary of $60 million. The four-time All-Star outfielder has been especially putrid at home: .187, four homers, .572 OPS. “You’ve just got to keep going,” he told reporters. “Try and at least pick out the positives and just try to ride with that.” Something tells us Dodgers fans would forgive if Tucker repeats his two-homer Game 1 of the 2022 World Series for the Astros.

2. Austin Riley, Braves: The two-time All-Star third baseman dragged a .223 average and .658 OPS into the weekend against the Phillies, the nadir in a three-year decline since Atlanta locked him up to a 10-year, $212 million extension, the largest contract in franchise history. He would be wise, then, to take the advice of infield coach Ron Washington. “[He’s] always saying, ‘Say, hey, no one cares what you did yesterday. It’s about today. Close the yearbook,’” Riley told The Athletic in June. A few big October hits would make it easier. A potential start: Riley beat the Phillies last Sunday with a go-ahead triple in the ninth inning off Jhoan Duran.

3. Christian Yelich, Brewers: The former MVP stands out on a roster that lacks star power. But he has been barely above replacement level, with a .241 average, .712 OPS, and 0.4 WAR entering the weekend. It’s little wonder that manager Pat Murphy told reporters that he walked in on Yelich taking swings in the batting cage at 1 a.m. after a recent game. “You can say, ‘That’s not enough. He’s getting old.’ No, he’s not,” Murphy said of the 34-year-old face of the franchise. “He’s got another gear.” Maybe it will resurface in the postseason.

4. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays: It’s up there with any of baseball’s 2026 unsolved mysteries. How can it be possible midway through September, after 132 games, that the $500 million masher still hasn’t hit a homer at home this season? Woe, Canada. Guerrero went into the weekend slugging .352, 128th among 139 hitters who qualified for the batting title. He had only eight homers after averaging 31 over the previous five seasons. But the Jays were only one game out of a wild card in the mediocrity-riddled American League. Imagine if they get in and he finds the power switch.

And then there’s Turner, who can be the Phillies’ biggest difference-maker in October.

“The games that Trea gets going, it’s like a different dynamic with our offense,” Mattingly said. “We’re seeing him hopefully find a groove of hitting the ball hard for a number of games here in a row. It’d be huge for us.”

Zack Wheeler went to a full count against back-to-back hitters only to walk both and load the bases. His pitch count climbed above 100 on a hot, sticky afternoon.

And rookie reliever Alex McFarlane was ready.

Easy call, right?

Maybe in the playoffs, assuming the Phillies get in, Don Mattingly will act like most managers and be aggressive with the bullpen. Not yet, though. And come to think of it, maybe never. Not with three starting horses who are easier to trust on fumes than any of his fresh relievers.

So, Mattingly stuck with Wheeler, who slung a sweeper to escape the seventh inning Thursday, only to watch star closer Jhoan Duran give up a tiebreaking homer to the Astros’ Cam Smith in the ninth in a dud of a 2-1 loss to cap a homestand that felt, well, meh.

“Playoff situation, you’re usually not letting your guys roll like that,” Mattingly said after pushing Wheeler to 110 pitches. “You’ve got to be more careful. But right now, I think he was the best guy for that situation today.”

If Wheeler could’ve thrown 130 pitches, he would’ve been the best choice beyond the seventh inning, too, just as Cristopher Sánchez and Jesús Luzardo would when they start.

Let’s get back to that. First, a check of the standings: The Phillies slid to four games behind the division-leading Braves before hopping on a flight to Atlanta for three games that would’ve felt so much more like a showdown if the deficit was only three games.

Instead, the Braves could finish 7-8 and the Phillies would have to go 12-3 to overtake them.

Not impossible, but also not likely, considering they alternated losses and wins during a 3-4 homestand and haven’t won consecutive games since a six-game roll from Aug. 26 to Sept. 1.

But the Phillies still lead the Cubs by one game for the top National League wild card, which brings the benefit of playing the best-of-three first-round miniseries at home.

“We want to play at home,” Bryce Harper said. “It’s a huge advantage in the postseason, just hearing it from other players coming into here and playing in this environment. We expect our crowds to be loud and crazy and obnoxious and talk the crap that they do to other players. I think it plays a huge part.”

In that case, it would behoove the Phillies to play well over the next nine games in Atlanta, Washington, and New York.

And it sure feels like they wasted an opportunity in the finale against the Astros.

Despite not getting a hit through four innings against Astros righty Cristian Javier (remember him from the combined no-hitter in Game 5 of the 2022 World Series?), the Phillies tied it in the fifth on Luis Arraez’s leadoff single, Alec Bohm’s double, and a fielder’s choice.

Wheeler recorded his third consecutive solid start after his roughest six-start stretch in seven seasons with the Phillies. But after striking out the side on 16 pitches in the sixth inning, he loaded the bases in the seventh on a leadoff bunt single and back-to-back two-out walks.

The Phillies got McFarlane loose. Did Mattingly consider going to him?

“It’s hard to bring in a kid there, bases loaded,” Mattingly said. “[Wheeler] was throwing the ball good. He felt good. I thought it was his.”

Said Wheeler: “He asked me before the inning if I was good, and I said, ‘Yeah.’ But it’s obviously up to him and his call. You’ve got to respect that. I was able to wiggle out of that, and I appreciate him letting me go out there and get that done.”

Across the sport, managers tend to ask less of starting pitchers in the postseason. Maybe Mattingly’s approach with Wheeler foretells that the Phillies will actually ask Wheeler, Sánchez, and Luzardo — all among the top-10 pitchers in baseball — for more.

“I think a few things probably play into it,” Wheeler said. “Maybe who’s coming up, how much the bullpen’s been used, all that stuff.”

Also, who’s in that bullpen. The Phillies’ main bridge to Duran consists of Jonathan Bowlan (career postseason appearances: zero), erratic lefty José Alvarado, and rookie McFarlane, with Orion Kerkering attempting to get back on the upswing of his roller coaster history.

Even Duran is showing cracks. He hung a splinker — his signature splitter/sinker hybrid — to Smith, who hit only the second homer against him all season. It came a few days after he gave up a hard-hit double and triple and gave up a go-ahead run in the ninth inning against the Braves.

“I feel good,” said Duran, who likely will be asked to get more than three outs in his postseason appearances. “I feel much better than when I started the season. I feel really good right now.”

In any case, Mattingly’s best bet may be to push the starters, at least until it’s time for Duran.

Wheeler conceded that 110 pitches in September often feels different than it would in April.

“Today it felt like that, just because it was hot and that last inning I worked a little bit more,” he said. “Some days are different than others.”

There may be more days like this for the Phillies’ big three starters. Their ability to hold up could determine if the Phillies host a wild-card series — and, ultimately, how far beyond that they advance.

“It’s big, you know?” Wheeler said. “There’s nothing like playing here in the playoffs. It’s probably the best atmosphere there is. To be able to host and play here, it’s important.”

There’s something about a rookie who throws 100 mph that thrills a jam-packed crowd. In September, amid a tightening pennant race, it can overstimulate even the public-address announcer.

Over to you, Dan Baker.

“Now pitching for the Phillies … number 71 … Aaalexxx McFaaaaaaarlane!”

To be fair, there was juice in the ballpark as the eighth inning began Sunday. Aaron Nola got not three but five outs in the seventh to hold a one-run lead before Derek Hill and Kyle Schwarber homered, leaving the Phillies six outs from shaving the Braves’ division lead to three games.

Baker kicked in extra oomph only to suit the mood.

If only McFarlane had met the moment.

Instead, making his 12th major-league appearance, the 25-year-old righty gave up back-to-back one-out hits and a game-tying three-run homer to arms-flapping, stutter-stepping Ronald Acuña Jr. that exposed the Phillies’ most-glaring flaw and put a crimp in their chase for a third consecutive NL East crown.

“It was a tough one today,” Nola said after a 5-4 loss shoved the Phillies back to five games out of first place with 19 to play. “No doubt about it.”

Said interim manager Don Mattingly: “It’s one of those where you feel like it’s a tough one.”

OK, for the record, Jhoan Duran gave up the go-ahead run in the ninth on Ozzie Albies’ leadoff double and Austin Riley’s triple. It was only the second earned run allowed by the star closer since Aug. 1.

Before that, though, the worst fear of 42,793 paying customers at sold-out Citizens Bank Park — and the biggest concern for team officials — reared its head again. Because as well as the Phillies have played over the last three months, the bridge to Duran is as creaky as ever.

Jonathan Bowlan has emerged as the primary eighth-inning reliever, but Mattingly noted that “his stuff ticks down a little bit” when he pitches on back-to-back days. Orion Kerkering has faltered. José Alvarado is inconsistent.

The choice, then, with a 4-1 lead was McFarlane, who was still in double-A at the All-Star break but has the kind of big arm that leaves organizations dreaming that he could be an X factor in October.

McFarlane gave up a single on a first-pitch fastball to Mike Yastrzemski and a double to Drake Baldwin on a slider. He threw seven fastballs in a row — all 100 mph or more — to Acuña, the Braves’ best player and Public Enemy No. 1 these days in Philly baseball for his showboating home-run trot.

“That was the plan there,” McFarlane said. “Just trust [catcher Garrett Stubbs]’ calls and trust myself to make those pitches.”

Said Mattingly: “You feel like he beat him with most of those, and like the sixth pitch was the first one I felt like [Acuña] was on time. Maybe [go to] something different. But I’m just backseat quarterbacking.”

With a 1-2 count, McFarlane intended to put the seventh fastball above the strike zone. It wasn’t elevated enough, and Acuña drove it into the bleachers in left-center field.

Cue the boos. Watch the air leave the balloon.

Here, then, is the state of play in the NL East: By taking two of three in this four-game holiday weekend series, the Braves are assured of leaving town with no less than a four-game lead that would functionally be five games by virtue of winning the season series.

It appears the Phillies’ best path to the playoffs is the wild card, where they maintained a 4½-game cushion. They’re also still a half-game behind the Cubs for the top wild card, which brings a home series in the best-of-three initial round.

Oh, but think of what might have been if not for that eighth-inning collapse.

“I figured it was a good spot for Alex,” Mattingly said. “He’s been pitching well. You want to give him that shot. I think it was the right [move] for today. … Alex was rested. We felt like it was a good spot.”

Next time, who knows?

That’s the problem.

Nola dazzled again, setting down the first 10 batters before allowing a one-out double to Acuña in the fourth. It wasn’t until the sixth that he gave up a run on a one-out walk, a single, and a sacrifice fly.

With Nola’s pitch count under control, Mattingly sent him back out for the seventh inning against the middle of the Braves’ order. And with one out, Mauricio Dubón doubled on a ball that Bryce Harper lost in the sun in right field.

Still, Mattingly stuck with Nola.

The sun blinded Alec Bohm on a foul pop down the first-base line with two outs. Nola regrouped to strike out Sean Murphy and hold a 2-1 lead. As Nola walked off the mound and reached out with his right hand to have it checked, the umpire almost had to get in line behind teammates who wanted to shake it.

But the Phillies were still three outs from Duran. And given the state of the bullpen, there aren’t three more difficult outs for them to get.

Now, they’ll find out how McFarlane handles adversity.

“I think we see how he responds, and I think I feel good about the way he’s going to respond,” Mattingly said. “It’s going to happen to everybody if you play long enough, so we’ll see. I think he’ll be fine. He’s been a kid that’s handled everything.”

Except blowing a three-run lead in the eighth inning.

“Just come to the field the next day, flush it, and just believe in yourself,” McFarlane said. “Understand that you don’t let that moment define you and just accept failure for what it is and continue to keep pushing.”

Jhoan Duran unleashed a sinking, 99-mph splitter for a game-ending groundout, clapped his glove three times, and shook hands.

Ho-hum.

But Duran’s 11-pitch ninth inning in Saturday night’s 4-2 victory over the Braves was notable in that it marked his 30th save. And a Phillies reliever hadn’t recorded 30 saves in a season since … checks notes … Jeanmar Gómez in 2016.

“He makes me feel good when I’m able to say, ‘OK, let’s go to Jo,” interim manager Don Mattingly said before Sunday’s game. “It’s nice to have that guy out there.”

Just to prove he’s human, Duran gave up the go-ahead run in the ninth inning of Sunday’s 5-4 loss to the Braves. After Alex McFarlane allowed a game-tying three-run homer to Ronald Acuña Jr. in the eighth, Ozzie Albies doubled and Austin Riley tripled against Duran.

But Duran has been mostly automatic — 1.85 ERA, 99 strikeouts in 73 innings, 46-for-51 in save chances — since coming over at the trade deadline last season. The Phillies don’t take him for granted, though — and not only because they sent top-100 prospects Eduardo Tait and Mick Abel to the Twins to get him.

“When you feel like you have that guy that you can just hand him the ball in the ninth, it feels like it sets up the way we’re able to go get the ball to our bullpen,” Kyle Schwarber said. “He’s been so key for us.”

Duran converted his first 16 saves this season before a hiccup June 9 in Toronto. His only other blown save came July 27 in Miami. In 51⅓ innings, he has allowed one homer, a solo shot to pinch-hitting Kyle Manzardo that decided a 1-0 loss to Cleveland on May 22.

In fact, Duran’s dominance prompts the question of whether he’s having the best season ever by a Phillies closer.

Pitching in a bygone era for relievers, Jim Konstanty logged 152 innings, won 16 games and saved 22, and was named NL MVP for the 1950 Whiz Kids. Steve Bedrosian notched 40 saves and won the Cy Young Award in 1987. Brad Lidge famously went 48-for-48 in save chances, including the postseason, and threw the clinching pitch of the 2008 World Series.

But based on ERA, walks/hits per inning pitched, and opponents’ batting average, there’s only one instance of a Phillies closer being as unhittable as Duran this season:

• Billy Wagner, 2005: 1.51 ERA, 0.837 WHIP, 87 strikeouts, 6 homers, .165 average
• Duran, 2026: 1.72 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 72 strikeouts, 1 homer, .232 average

The Phillies likely will ask Duran to get more than three outs in postseason games. If anything, though, his presence amplifies the Phillies’ need to bridge the gap between the starter and their star closer when they have a lead in the seventh and eighth innings.

Jonathan Bowlan has taken over as the primary setup man, although lefty José Alvarado could also be in the mix, especially against pockets of left-handed hitters. McFarlane faltered for the first time Sunday as his role increases, especially given Orion Kerkering’s inconsistency.

But there’s no question about the ninth inning.

“I was excited at the beginning of this year to be able to get [Duran] from the start and really feel like we can get him where he needs to be,” Schwarber said. “And he’s been that guy since we traded for him. We’re lucky to have that guy at the back end.”

Miller time

Top prospect Aidan Miller doubled off the left-field wall in his first at-bat of the season Saturday night for low-A Clearwater.

More significantly, he stayed off the injury report after the game.

“I know he got a hit — he got a double — and I know he was swinging the bat pretty good in the live [batting practices],” Mattingly said. “I don’t think any of that’s what you’re really searching for. You’re searching for him being on the field, bouncing back, all that kind of stuff, and being able to progress. I think that’s what we’re looking at.”

Miller, a 22-year-old shortstop, was sidelined since spring training by a low back condition that required a spinal procedure in June. He played five innings at shortstop in his first game, also drawing a walk and committing an error.

The Phillies could keep Miller in Clearwater for the Florida State League playoffs, which begin next week, before moving him through the system. Double-A Reading is closing in on an Eastern League playoff spot; triple-A Lehigh Valley’s season runs through Sept. 21.

Barring a setback, Miller is tentatively slated to play in the Arizona Fall League, although rosters haven’t been announced yet.

“I didn’t hear anything bad coming out of [Saturday night],” Mattingly said. “So, we’ll see where it goes.”

Extra bases

Veteran lefty Nestor Cortes, who signed a minor-league contract last month, is scheduled to pitch next week for Clearwater in a Florida State League playoff game, according to Mattingly. The 31-year-old had surgery last November on a torn tendon in his throwing arm. The Phillies took a flier in hopes that he can help down the stretch and in the postseason. … Jesús Luzardo (13-5, 3.02 ERA) is scheduled to start the series finale at 1:05 p.m. Monday against Braves righty Grant Holmes (9-5, 3.62).

Zack Wheeler tried to get Ronald Acuña Jr. to fish for a two-strike splitter in the dirt. No luck. He threw back-to-back sinkers. Both were fouled off.

OK, then. How about a heater?

Wheeler dialed up 97 mph — his fastest pitch Saturday night — on the outside edge and struck out the Braves star to end the fifth inning. And it would’ve been just another out in a 4-2 Phillies victory save for one thing: Did you catch Acuña’s arms-flapping stutter step around the bases after homering two innings earlier?

“It doesn’t really bother me all that much,” Wheeler said of Acuña’s typical home-run celebration. “He can do whatever he wants. He hit a home run, so it’s up to him to do what he wants.”

But …

“Our guy just rounds the bases,” Wheeler said, referring to Kyle Schwarber, “and he hits 50 here.”

And …

“For sure, it gives you a little more motivation,” Wheeler added. “I really wanted to strike him out right there and kind of get him back, so to speak.”

OK, put aside the Acuña drama (don’t worry, we’ll come back to it), and here’s the most significant thing from a victory that nudged the Phillies back to four games behind the division-leading Braves: Wheeler allowed one run on three hits and two walks, struck out nine, and lasted six innings after escaping a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the first.

In other words, he looked like himself again.

Was there a doubt? You bet there was.

Two weeks ago in Seattle, Wheeler endured the worst start of his worst six-start stretch in seven seasons with the Phillies. It was so bad that he wondered if he was tipping pitches.

A scuba-level dive into his biomechanics revealed that he was holding his glove 2 inches lower than usual and over-rotating through his delivery, causing erratic command. And even after he held the Angels to one run in six innings last Sunday, he wasn’t convinced that he’d completely shaken his issues.

Then, Wheeler gave up back-to-back singles and a walk to the first three Braves batters, and, well, you could feel the anxiety over the status of the Phillies’ $42 million ace creeping back to DEFCON levels.

“It was not, ‘Oh, here we go again,’” Wheeler said. “It was just, now it’s time to bear down. I was feeling good. I just got myself in a little jam right there, so I decided to get myself out of it.”

With a big assist from catcher J.T. Realmuto.

After dangerous Michael Harris II fouled out, Wheeler threw a two-strike fastball to Mauricio Dubón that clipped the outer edge of the plate. After umpire Todd Tichenor called it a ball, Realmuto challenged. The call was overturned.

One pitch later, Wheeler was out of the inning.

“It was kind of gutsy of J.T. to challenge it there in the first, but it worked out for us,” Wheeler said. “He has a really good idea of the zone. I think his challenges have proved that. So, yeah, it was gutsy, but it was good.”

“Huge,” interim manager Don Mattingly added. “To be able to get that punch right there, you talk about leverage, right, in different spots? Sometimes it’s the first [inning], and that was a big one.”

Another gutsy play: Schwarber’s decision to tag up at second base and take third on a fly ball to deep left field. Not known for his speed, he slid in ahead of the tag, then scored on Luis Arraez’s single.

“It’s early in the game there and wanted to put some pressure on the defense, make them make the perfect play,” said Schwarber, who tacked on his majors-leading 41st homer in the fourth inning. “Obviously it’s a roll of the dice. But it’s a chance that you want to take there.”

The Phillies scored twice in the first inning before Acuña robbed at least two runs with by tracking down Bryson Stott’s bases-loaded drive to right-center. It was 3-0 when Acuña took Wheeler deep in the third — and flapped his arms like Swoop.

“Today’s game, you see it all the time,” Mattingly said. “It’s more commonplace. Let the kids play, right? We started that. That’s what you get. I’m sure it still irritates guys to a point.”

Mattingly said Wheeler “did kind of turn it up a little bit after that.” In fact, Wheeler retired 11 of the next 12 batters, allowing only a two-out walk to Dominic Smith in the fourth inning. He chalked a lot of it up to his splitter, which felt good in the bullpen and produced seven of his 19 swings and misses.

And Wheeler certainly appeared to glare at Acuña after the inning-ending strikeout in the fifth. They’ve dueled often over the years, with Acuña hitting five homers and Wheeler striking him out 16 times in 55 at-bats.

“I mean, he’s a really good player,” Wheeler said. “You make a mistake like I did, he can put it in the seats, so you’ve got to be careful with him and pitch smart.”

It helps, too, when Wheeler is back to being one of the best pitchers in baseball.

“That’s the Wheeler that we all know,” Schwarber said. “Every time he takes that rock, you feel like you’re going to get a performance like that. And sometimes you can take it for granted because you don’t realize how lucky you are to have performances like you see tonight.”

Alex McFarlane announced his arrival in the majors on July 22 by getting Shohei Ohtani to fly out on a 100-mph fastball.

It has only gotten better since then.

Somehow.

McFarlane is the Next Big Thing in the Phillies’ bullpen, with a 0.79 ERA in 11 appearances and an ascending role in interim manager Don Mattingly’s late-inning pecking order.

“You can’t really let it get in your head,” McFarlane said Saturday. “Everybody in that bullpen is capable of doing every opportunity that they ask. If your name is called, your name is called for that situation. You know?”

Sure, but McFarlane can expect Mattingly and pitching coach Caleb Cotham to call his name more often in close games down the stretch.

Drafted one round before Orion Kerkering in 2022 but waylaid by injuries and a role change in the minors, McFarland is rising in the bullpen’s circle of trust as struggling Kerkering slips.

The contrast was evident Friday night. McFarlane took over a 3-2 deficit from starter Cristopher Sánchez and got three outs on eight pitches in the seventh inning. In the eighth, Kerkering gave up a two-run homer to the Braves’ Mauricio Dubón to hike his ERA to 8.44 since July 22.

A day later, Mattingly said the quiet part out loud.

“I think you get to a point where you have to pick up on what you see and maybe change that role a little bit,” he said. “You still know that [Kerkering]’s going to have to get big outs at different times of the game. But I think it’s fair to say that you have to pay attention to what’s going on.”

On the flip side, McFarlane has impressed with electric stuff, notably a triple-digit heater. He throws two fastballs (a four-seamer to righties and a sinker to lefties) and two sliders (a traditional version to lefties and a sweeper to righties).

But he also has demonstrated poise. Among his strikeout victims: Byron Buxton, Randy Arozarena, Mike Trout, and earlier this week, Nolan Arenado in a big spot in Arizona.

“It’s just building confidence from [facing] those guys,” McFarlane said. “Whatever happens, happens. But just being there, facing those guys is an achievement in and of itself. You work hard all season to get up to The Show and just be able to test your skills against the best. No matter the results, it’s a great experience.

“You have all the respect in the world for those guys. But when you’re out there pitching, they’re just another guy in the box. That’s the mindset I take with it. Then after the game, I would reflect and be like, ‘I really faced those guys.’ It’s an amazing opportunity. It’s an amazing experience.”

McFarlane’s biggest challenge has always been throwing strikes. He walked the leadoff batter in three of his first four appearances and sidestepped trouble. But he has walked only two batters in his last seven appearances.

Additionally, Mattingly noted that McFarlane has gotten better about holding runners by being quicker to the plate.

“Leadoff walks are going to be a thing that, as a reliever, you’ve got to stay on top of throughout your whole career in order to be successful,” McFarlane said. “It’s something that I’m just going to continue to hammer my whole career. You know leadoff walks are going to happen in your career. It’s how you respond.”

McFarlane has responded well enough that Mattingly wants to see more.

“I think everything has been good here,” Mattingly said. “There’s nothing really that’s been bad. The way he’s handled himself … he’s just had a good disposition about him. There’s been a lot of things that he does well.”

Oh, baby! Stott returns

Wearing a hospital wristband, Bryson Stott rejoined the Phillies and returned to the lineup after announcing on Instagram that his wife, Dru, gave birth to their third child, a daughter.

Stott was scratched an hour before Friday night’s game due to what the Phillies called “a personal matter.”

Just in case Stott was unable to make it back in time, the Phillies summoned infielder Otto Kemp from triple A. Kemp took batting practice before rejoining Lehigh Valley for its series at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Stott, who batted eighth and played third base against Braves lefty Martin Perez, was batting .284 with a .374 on-base percentage and .802 OPS in his last 75 games.

Extra bases

As expected, top prospect Aidan Miller made his 2026 debut at shortstop for low-A Clearwater. Miller, 22, was sidelined since February with a back condition that required a spinal procedure in June. … Righty reliever Caleb Kilian, sidelined by a strained muscle in his left side, played catch for the first time, the start of a throwing progression. It remains unclear if he will be ready to pitch before the end of the season. … First-round draft pick Tyler Spangler, an 18-year-old shortstop, hit his first professional homer Friday night for Clearwater. … Aaron Nola (6-10, 4.93 ERA) is scheduled to start at 1:10 p.m. Sunday against Braves righty Tyler Mahle (5-10, 4.25).