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.
And Don Mattingly is managing accordingly.
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.
First, a few particulars:
- 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.
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.
“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.
“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.
