The Philadelphia Phillies moved first pitch up 35 minutes Sunday, racing a nor’easter now threatening their regular-season finale, a game that gets them into the playoffs — if they win.
But the game must be played for the Phillies to win, of course. Philadelphia already dropped four straight games, and Sunday’s Game 162 against the Tampa Bay Rays decides whether the Phillies open the playoffs in Atlanta or head home for an extended vacation.
The team announced the change at 11:37 a.m. ET Sunday, pushing first pitch from 3:05 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET. “The earlier start is intended to provide the best opportunity to play today’s game without interruption,” the Phillies wrote in a Sunday morning schedule announcement.
That reversed the morning’s operating theory. Local coverage had framed Philadelphia as racing toward a delay, not an earlier first pitch. It would be “shocking if the game starts on time. Or starts at all,” Evan Macy wrote for PhillyVoice in Sunday morning’s rain forecast breakdown.
Showers were expected mainly before 1 p.m., according to the National Weather Service, with wind gusts to 35 mph and up to three-quarters of an inch of rain possible by evening. Monday’s outlook improves substantially, down to roughly 30% rain.
Philadelphia Phillies’ Playoff Path and the Rain’s Hidden Upside
The Phillies are 87-74. The Arizona Diamondbacks are one game behind at 86-75. The season series ended 3-3, pushing the tiebreaker to intra-division record, a tiebreaker the Diamondbacks hold, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia.
A Phillies win clinches the final NL wild-card spot outright. A Diamondbacks loss clinches it too, no matter what Philadelphia does. Only a Phillies loss paired with an Arizona win ends the season, sending the Diamondbacks through on the tiebreaker.
San Diego stays dry, and Padres-Diamondbacks starts on time at 3:10 p.m. ET, Michael Soroka against Randy Vásquez. That gap still favors Philadelphia. A weather delay after 2:30 p.m. could let the Phillies take the field already knowing Arizona’s result, freeing them to lean on the bullpen and hold ace Zack Wheeler back if Arizona has already lost.
A Monday postponement, less likely now, would buy an extra day for Luis Arráez, who has played through a sprained left ankle since Thursday.
Home clubs normally control rainout calls. The final series between two teams is an exception.
“The right to postpone the playing of a game is controlled by the home club with the exception of the final series… at which time the responsibility shifts to the Umpire-in-Chief,” according to MLB’s official inclement-weather policy for postponements. The Commissioner’s Office can also intervene when a postponement might affect the standings, exactly the scenario Sunday presents.
Philadelphia arrives here after blowing a 6½-game wild-card lead it held on Sept. 1, a collapse that includes Saturday’s rain-delayed 12-1 loss to Tampa Bay, when Aaron Nola lasted one inning on two days’ rest. If the Phillies win Sunday, they open a best-of-three wild-card series in Atlanta on Tuesday. If they lose and Arizona wins, the season is over.
Philadelphia Phillies Shift Zack Wheeler’s Start Amid the Rain
Wheeler, 13-5 with a 3.06 ERA, starts opposite Rays right-hander Nick Martinez, who sits at 15-5 with a 2.94 ERA. Tampa Bay’s probable pitchers page lists Martinez for Sunday, a matchup Philadelphia had hoped to avoid entirely. The Athletic reported the Phillies wanted Wheeler rested for the wild-card round, not burned in a game they didn’t need.
Jesús Luzardo, activated from the injured list after left shoulder inflammation, is available in relief for the first time since a complete game against Atlanta three weeks ago. Philadelphia’s roster confirms the move, though Luzardo projects as a high-leverage arm Sunday, not a long option.
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