Phillies Need To Clinch Playoff Spot ASAP To Avoid NLWC Mess

The Philadelphia Phillies have a lot of motivation to clinch a playoff spot before their regular season finale.

Sep 22, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler (45) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Philadelphia Phillies have no one to blame but themselves for the predicament that they are currently in.

Heading into their final regular-season series against the Tampa Bay Rays, their Magic Number remains at two. They have a two-game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks for a Wild Card spot in the National League, but the NL West squad holds the tiebreaker, so the Phillies need to finish one game ahead of them.

Any combination of two Phillies victories and Diamondbacks losses would send Philadelphia to the playoffs. Arizona has caught fire, winning five straight games after a stretch of losing five out of six games, putting pressure on the Phillies.

Philadelphia, meanwhile, hasn’t won a series since taking two out of three from the Diamondbacks from Aug. 31 through Sept. 2. They split four-game series with the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets, split a two-game set with the Washington Nationals and lost to the Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros and Braves.

Phillies might have to burn Zack Wheeler before playoffs

Sep 22, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler (45) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Getting into the postseason is priority No. 1, but the Phillies could put themselves in a really tough predicament if they don’t clinch a spot before Sunday. That is because if Philadelphia needs to win their final regular-season game, Zach Wheeler will be taking the ball to pitch them into the playoffs.

It would have a massive trickle-down effect, because pitching a full outing on Sunday would take him out of the mix for the Wild Card round, which is set to begin on Sept. 29.

If Wheeler starts on Sunday, Philadelphia is looking at an NLWC rotation of Aaron Nola in Game 1, Christopher Sanchez in Game 2 and Andrew Painter in Game 3. That is something the team should look to avoid occurring at all costs.

With the status of Jesus Luzardo uncertain for the NLWC, but trending in the right direction, the Phillies are short on starting pitching options. Jose Urquidy, who was claimed from the Chicago White Sox last week and threw 4.2 innings in his team debut, isn’t eligible for the postseason roster.

Phillies can turn to veterans to eat innings this weekend

Aug 19, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox pitcher Jose Urquidy (70) pitches against the Chicago Cubs during the third inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

He will almost certainly take the ball in some capacity over the weekend, with Game 2 against the Rays lining up to be a bullpen affair for Philadelphia. The team does still have Nestor Cortes, who signed a Major League deal a few weeks ago, waiting in the wings as a possible option.

The Phillies could certainly use some help from the San Diego Padres, who are now two games ahead of them in the Wild Card standings with three to play. They face Arizona this weekend, so someone has to lose those games.

In an ideal world, a spot is clinched by the end of Philadelphia’s game on Saturday, and they can push Wheeler back to start one of the NLWC games, with Atlanta looking to be the likely opponent right now.