The Phillies are down to the final stretch, and their pitching plans are already taking shape around that reality.
Philadelphia is effectively one win away from locking up a National League Wild Card spot. Thanks to a stack of tiebreakers, getting to 88 wins should be enough to put them in the postseason field eventually, especially with the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks scheduled to face each other in the final week of the regular season.
Since one of those teams has to lose those games, the Phillies are in strong position. If they beat the Milwaukee Brewers on Sept. 24 for win No. 88, the ticket is basically punched.
That backdrop explains why the club has several contingencies in place for its rotation. According to Matt Gelb of The Athletic on X, Andrew Painter will start the series finale against the Brewers.
There had been some discussion about using Painter out of the bullpen as part of preparation for his postseason role, but that plan only would have come into play if the Phillies had already clinched. With work still to do, Painter is staying in the rotation and taking the ball to begin the game.
Cristopher Sanchez is next in line. He will start Game 1 of the Phillies’ final regular-season series against the Tampa Bay Rays, who wrapped up the American League East on Tuesday with a win over the New York Yankees in the second game of their doubleheader.
Gelb noted that Sanchez’s outing could be cut short if Philadelphia has already clinched by then. If the Phillies have not secured a playoff spot, he’ll go through a normal start. Either way, starting Friday keeps him on track to pitch Game 2 of the NLWC.
For now, those are the only set plans. That makes sense, because once the postseason spot is secured, the focus shifts immediately to lining up the rotation for the Wild Card round, no matter who ends up on the other side.
The hope is that Philadelphia can have everything clinched by the time Friday’s game is over. If that happens, the club would have a chance to rest and organize its most important arms for the three-game Wild Card series that begins Sept. 29.
And that’s the whole equation for the Phillies right now: the rotation is their biggest strength, and interim manager Don Mattingly’s top job once the weekend arrives is making sure it’s arranged to give them the best possible shot to win and move on.
In Other News...
Rays' Post-Clinch Reset Brought More Concern Than Just A Yankees Loss
The Rays first game after clinching the AL East carried a different kind of attention, with Mason Englert getting the start and the club using the moment to sort through some roster housekeeping. Englert, however, could not give Tampa Bay the clean reset it hoped for. The Yankees tagged him for four home runs in a 9-2 loss, while the Rays managed only two runs, including Cedric Mullins homer.
Beyond the score, the pitching shuffle mattered too. To get Englert onto the roster, the Rays optioned reliever Alex Cook, and they are expected to activate Manny Rodriguez from the injured list. For a team that had already secured the division, the night was supposed to be more about lining up pieces for what comes next, but it ended with a reminder that the margin for error can still matter even in October prep mode. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Can Afford This Loss For One Very Important Reason
A rough night on the mound was easier for the Rays to absorb because the bigger picture is already settled. Tampa Bay has locked up home-field advantage in the playoffs along with a first-round bye, and that changed the way the club approached the game, with key players getting rest as the organization kept an eye on roster health heading into October.
Mason Englert got the start and ran into trouble early, allowing eight earned runs before the bullpen took over and finished things out. The Yankees, meanwhile, leaned on Gerrit Cole at the front end and then kept reaching into their relief corps, a reminder that the two clubs were using the night for very different purposes even if the final result went against Tampa Bay. [Read more 🡒]
Rays Add A New Pitching Option As October Plans Take Shape
As the Rays continue sorting out their pitching picture with October approaching, they made a small but meaningful roster shuffle by selecting the contract of right-hander Jake Woodford and optioning Mason Englert to Triple-A Durham. Woodford came aboard on a minor league deal in August and has already been stretched out with several starts for Durham, giving Tampa Bay another arm it can evaluate as it trims and tunes the staff for the postseason.
Englerts move reflects the urgency of that process after a rough recent start in which he allowed eight earned runs, and he is not expected to be part of the postseason roster. For the Rays, the decision is less about one transaction than the larger question they now face: which depth arms can still carve out a role when the games start to matter most. [Read more 🡒]