Phillies Suddenly Have Reason to Worry After Third Straight Loss
It’s bad enough that the Philadelphia Phillies have lost three consecutive games, and will enter the final weekend of the regular season needing a win just to keep their postseason hopes alive. Their odds of reaching the postseason, according to FanGraphs, peaked at 99.7 percent on Sept. 4.
In the best-case scenario, the Phillies will be back into the postseason with a feeble lineup, question marks about their bullpen, and potentially without one of their best starting pitchers. In the worst-case scenario, the Arizona Diamondbacks will overtake them for the third and final National League wild-card berth.
What seemed unthinkable only three weeks ago suddenly has life. The D-backs took a five-game winning streak into their series opener against the San Diego Padres on Friday. The Padres, who already locked in their wild-card berth, have no incentive to use their best pitchers in the final weekend of the season against the D-backs.
The same is true for the Tampa Bay Rays, but the team with the best record in the American League hardly looks like a pushover to lose one or both of their final two games against the Phillies. On Friday, Freddy Peralta led a combined shutout in which the Phillies collected only four hits.
That continued a disturbing trend: over their previous three series against the Washington Nationals, New York Mets and Milwaukee Brewers, the Phillies are hitting .201 with a .617 OPS. They’re averaging 3.3 runs per game over the nine-game span.
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The lineup was weakened further when Luis Arraez, the Phillies’ cleanup hitter who leads the majors with a .310 batting average, sprained his left ankle on Thursday. He’s doubtful to play again in the regular season.
The Phillies have several stars who can do more with a bat than Arraez, enough that he might not be missed in their remaining regular-season games. Pitcher Jesus Luzardo, however, had a 1.08 ERA over a seven-start stretch before he was diagnosed with shoulder inflammation after shutting out the Braves on Sept. 7.
Luzardo threw a 30-pitch bullpen Thursday, but questions remain if he’ll have built up his arm enough to be a starter or a reliever the next time he takes the mound.
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That wouldn’t be the worst outcome. Phillies relievers have combined for a major-league-worst 5.26 ERA from the fifth through seventh innings. Orion Kerkering was optioned after he allowed 10 runs in four September relief appearances.
But to get Luzardo back in any capacity, the Phillies have to clinch a postseason berth first. Tying the Diamondbacks in the standings isn’t enough, since Arizona holds the tiebreaker between the two teams.
The Nor’Easter storm bearing down on the East Coast isn’t the only storm cloud brewing. The Phillies will turn to a bullpen game on Saturday to try and beat the Rays and maintain control of their own postseason destiny.
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