Phillies' Magic Number Remains Unchanged Entering Final Game of Brewers Series

The magic number for the Philadelphia Phillies remains the same following a bad Wednesday night.

Sep 23, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Max Lazar (60) throws a pitch during the ninth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Philadelphia Phillies came into Wednesday night with a chance to clinch a playoff berth with a little help from the Colorado Rockies, but the team didn’t get the help that was needed, and they also didn’t do their part. 

On Wednesday, the Phillies lost the second game of their series to the Brewers by a score of 4-1. Aaron Nola wasn’t at his best in this game, allowing four runs in six innings. However, the lineup was able to muster just one run against Milwaukee. 

The struggles of the offense remain a major concern for the team. Some of their key players are in extended slumps now, and this is a unit that is really underachieving. Of their first four hitters in the lineup, it was only Trea Turner who was able to record a hit in the loss. 

In September, both Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber are right around a .700 OPS, which simply isn’t good enough. The Phillies rely on these two to be superstars, and they have struggled. However, one bright spot was Bryson Stott, who, after a good game on Tuesday, had a multi-hit game on Wednesday. 

As the team heads into Thursday and the final game of their series with the Brewers, their magic number will remain at two, and they can still clinch a playoff spot with some help. 

Magic Number Remains Unchanged 

Sep 23, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola (27) gets a new baseball after allowing a home run during the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With just four games to go now, the magic number being at two is still a great place to be for Philadelphia. Unfortunately,  they did slide in the Wild Card standings. 

The San Diego Padres have been playing well, and with Philadelphia and the Cubs both losing on Wednesday and the Padres getting a win against the Los Angeles Dodgers, they were able to secure the top wild card spot as of now. 

Due to the tiebreaker, the Cubs are still ahead of the Phillies in the standings, and if things ended today, Philadelphia would be traveling to Atlanta for the wild-card round. 

However, with four games still to go, things could change quite a bit. The Tampa Bay Rays have already started to slow things down with everything clinched in the American League, and that is who the Phillies will be facing next for three games. 

Ideally, Philadelphia will be in a good position by the final game of the season and perhaps can line up their rotation and get Zack Wheeler on the mound for Game 1 of the wild card round.