It's still a bit of a long shot, but the Diamondbacks are much, much closer to winning the final National League wild-card spot than they were just a few days ago — much to the surprise and chagrin of Philadelphia Phillies fans.
The Diamondbacks are rolling and are one game behind Philadelphia beginning play Saturday, Sept. 26. If Arizona wins its final two games, the Phillies would need to match that to clinch a playoff spot. An end-of-season tie in the standings means the Diamondbacks make the playoffs.
They finished a sweep of their three-game series against the Colorado Rockies on Thursday, Sept. 24, and won yet another must-win game in San Diego, 11-4, against the Padres on Friday.
The second game in the teams' three-game series is set for
5:40 p.m. MST Saturday at Petco Park in San Diego.
The Phillies, who lost to Tampa Bay on Friday, are scheduled to play at 4:15 p.m. MST (7:15 p.m. ET), weather permitting. The forecast calls for a good deal of rain Saturday and Sunday.
Tampa sends Griffin Jax (8-10, 3.62 ERA) against a Phillies lineup that includes Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper at the top of the batting order.
The Phillies are leaning toward starting veteran Jose Urquidy and figure to use several relievers.
Arizona, too, will likely employ multiple relievers, including Ryne Nelson, against the Padres' scheduled starter, Walker Buehler (9-6, 4.56 ERA).
The Diamondbacks' wild-card deficit is now just one game, and they hold the tiebreaker on the Phillies. A tie after the regular season means the Diamondbacks will head into the postseason.
Arizona Republic's Diamondbacks beat writer, Nick Piecoro, tempered the excitement from the Arizona fan base with a bit of reality:
"A week ago, the Diamondbacks' playoff odds looked worse than a snowball’s chance. They had improved to merely improbable a couple of days ago. And by the time they arrived here at Petco Park on Friday, Sept. 25, their chances looked even better.
"Maybe all the way to somewhere within the realm of possibility.
"Even after beating the San Diego Padres, 11-4, on Friday night, the Diamondbacks still are not likely to reach the postseason, at least not based on cold, hard probabilities. But with two days left in the regular season, there is no denying how things feel for the Diamondbacks — and how they must feel for the team they are chasing, the Philadelphia Phillies."
The Padres clinched a playoff spot Thursday, Sept. 24, but are still chasing the top wild-card position, which brings the home-field advantage in the wild-card round.
The magic number for the Phillies to stave off the Diamondbacks is two (any combination of Diamondbacks losses and Phillies wins), so Arizona can't really afford to lose more than one game.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Diamondbacks wild-card playoff scenarios today. Phillies feel the heat
