The final National League Wild Card spot will come down to the Philadelphia Phillies and Arizona Diamondbacks. The race has tightened up, with the Phillies up two games with three to play.
Interim manager Don Mattingly discussed the pressure of trying to close out a postseason berth.
“We should be feeling pressure,” said Mattingly on NBC Sports Philadelphia’s postgame coverage. “I know I feel some pressure. But it’s that time of year, and you’re trying to win games.”
With a playoff spot still up for grabs, Don Mattingly offers his perspective on the pressure.
The Phillies have limped through September. They’ve gone 9-12 in the month without a series win, leaving the door open for another team to sneak up on them in the Wild Card chase. The Diamondbacks are the only team remaining.
One added note is that Arizona holds the tiebreaker between the two clubs due to a better intradivision record. That creates an extra level of urgency for the Phillies in their final series of the year.
Don Mattingly on Back-to-Back Losses to the Brewers
Mattingly noted that the Phillies ran into a very good club in the Milwaukee Brewers. The Brewers tallied their first 100-win season in franchise history and secured the top seed in the National League playoffs.
“It’s not like we were playing somebody that wasn’t a club that’s a good club,” said Mattingly. “They catch the ball. They put pressure on you in different ways. They got good arms. Their bullpen is good.”
The Phillies lost back-to-back games in which they scored one run apiece. That’s a trend that could spell the end of their season if it continues against the Tampa Bay Rays.
“You have to be able to find a way to score, obviously, to win games.”
The Rays are locked into the American League’s top seed. For them, the series is more about staying hot going into the postseason than stacking wins.
But the Phillies could take advantage of the situation. They can close out the final Wild Card spot by winning two of their final three games. Otherwise, they’ll have to depend on the San Diego Padres to eliminate the Diamondbacks for them.
Phillies Right Now
Phillies All-Star slugger Bryce Harper mentioned that the Phillies remain in the driver’s seat toward clinching their postseason berth. But their chances of qualifying have dropped to 88.8% according to FanGraphs Playoff Odds.
That’s their lowest figure since September 8. And that number could continue to shrink the longer it takes to close it out.
Of course, that could change just one day. The Phillies’ magic number to clinch a postseason spot is two. So they would need a combination of two of their wins plus Diamondbacks losses to close it out.
All it takes is one win against Tampa Bay and a loss by the Diamondbacks. And that could happen as early as their series opener against the Rays. The question remains whether the Phillies can close out this rollercoaster season, or will it be one final disappointment that serves as the final nail in their 2026 coffin.
Phillies Manager Makes Honest Statement After Back-to-Back Ugly Losses to Brewers