The Philadelphia Phillies have kept this core together for a long time, and it’s a group still hoping to achieve the biggest things in October.
To win the pressure-packed playoff games, though, a team first has to get there. And so in the final week of the regular season, these Phillies of Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Trea Turner are still trying to clinch their spot.
They’re getting close, with their magic number dropping by the day, but it hasn’t quite happened yet.
What Is The Phillies’ Magic Number?
The Phillies’ magic number entering play on Tuesday, Sept. 22 is 3.
The magic number is in play with the Phillies and the Arizona Diamondbacks — the one team on the outside of the NL Wild Card standings that could still catch up.
The magic number being 3 means that any combination of three Phillies wins and Diamondbacks losses combined will get Philadelphia into the postseason.
So if, say, the Phillies won on Tuesday and Wednesday and the Diamondbacks lost on Wednesday, that would clinch a playoff spot for Philadelphia.
It’d be tough for the Phillies not to get in at this point, but the job isn’t done yet.
Phillies Schedule
The toughest part of getting this task over the finish line for the Phillies is their closing schedule.
They first take on the team with the best record in the National League, the Milwaukee Brewers. They then close with the team with the best record in the American League, the Tampa Bay Rays.
The series against the Brewers begins on Tuesday night. The Phillies will send Zack Wheeler to the mound, while Milwaukee counters with Dustin May.
It’s another matchup of righties on Wednesday with Aaron Nola against Logan Henderson.
Pitchers haven’t been announced further out than that, but Philadelphia sure is going to have some exciting games in this final week.
Diamondbacks Schedule
Arizona needs a lot to go right to catch up for a Wild Card spot and potentially knock out the Phillies.
They get a more favorable schedule to at least make a run at it.
The Diamondbacks are in Coors Field for three games against the lowly Rockies and have reliable veteran starters Michael Soroka, Merrill Kelly and Eduardo Rodriguez lined up to start those games.
Arizona can then also try and get a playoff spot on the final weekend of the season if the San Diego Padres start to slip before then. The gap is too big for Arizona to make up on their own, but they close with a three-game set at the Padres — and if San Diego loses games early this week, there’ll still be something to play for in that series for the Diamondbacks even if the Phillies already take care of their business and leave it down to the two NL West teams to duke it out.
Phillies’ Magic Number To Make Playoffs Revealed