PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kyle Schwarber belly-flopped more than he actually slid headfirst into second base and popped up with his uniform smudged in dirt. He punched his right fist in the air and shouted something in exhilaration toward a fired-up Phillies dugout.
Schwarber delivered with a clutch two-run double, yes. He also showed the fire, the fight that vanished from the Phillies during a treacherous week that sent them from the brink of a wild-card
clinch to the edge — and yes, the bottom was crumbling — of an all-time franchise collapse.
His slide had Phillies fans roaring from their feet — perhaps more than a few who wore brown paper bags over their heads a night earlier — and instantly all felt right on a soggy day inside Citizens Bank Park.
Zack Wheeler pitched a gem against Tampa Bay on Sunday and untangled a few thousand knots inside the stomachs of Phillies fans, and even from those inside a mostly solemn clubhouse. The Phillies survived their perilous five-day scare and are indeed headed to the playoffs for the fifth straight season, beating the Rays 7-3 to clinch the final NL wild-card berth.
Jhoan Duran struck out Nick Fortes to end it. Duran pounded his mitt and was greeted by teammates for a fairly muted celebration on the field.
Philadelphia’s freefall coincided with the Arizona Diamondbacks getting hot over the final week of the season and turning the Phillies’ slam dunk of a playoff spot into something much more tenuous.
Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said ahead of Wednesday’s game — the first day the team could clinch — that, yes, Philadelphia would wait until midnight if needed to pop the bubbly if it beat Milwaukee and the Diamondbacks lost a time zone away to Colorado.
The Phillies lost that one. Then came three more defeats, capped by a 12-1 embarrassment on Saturday against the AL East champion Rays.
Mattingly's presumed wait of a few hours to celebrate was not complete until 5:19 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, Sept. 27.
The Phillies scored only three runs during their four-game losing streak. They needed an unearned run on Saturday to snap a 21-inning scoreless streak.
Schwarber’s double in the second inning made it 4-0, and that all but erased the significance of the Diamondbacks' outcome in San Diego.
J.T. Realmuto slogged through 34 straight hitless at-bats. He also ripped an RBI double in the second inning.
Bryson Stott batted cleanup for only the seventh time in his career. He also hit an RBI double that scored Schwarber in the first inning.
Bryce Harper lined a solo shot into the first row of the right-field seats, and Edmundo Sosa added a two-run homer for a 7-1 lead in the seventh.
Slumps were busted. Losing streaks were obliterated. Corks were set to be popped.
Wheeler allowed one run and threw 97 pitches over six innings to win his 14th game of the season on a rainy day that stirred memories of the 2008 World Series.
The Phillies though likely took a loss by pushing the clincher to the 162nd game. With Game 1 of the Wild Card Series set to start Tuesday in Atlanta, the Phillies will surely have to beat the Braves without a start from Wheeler.
The Phillies' rotation has been a strength this season, and Jesús Luzardo and Cristopher Sánchez are in play for Games 1 and 2. Andrew Painter or Aaron Nola could make a Game 3 start, if necessary.
Philadelphia had a 6 1/2-game lead over Arizona for the third NL wild card on Sept. 1 before going into a tailspin that spurred painful memories of the 1964 season. Those Phillies lost 10 straight games to blow a 6 1/2-game lead and the NL pennant with 12 games left.
This year's team will be able to raise a playoff flag on opening day (whenever that is in 2027).
The Phillies also must try and prove their late-September meltdown was nothing but a blip in a long and successful October.
That's a problem to start to solve on Monday.
On Sunday, it was hugs and high-fives and a collective exhale that more playoffs were on the horizon.
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