PHILADELPHIA – The Phillies avoided one of the worst collapses in Major League Baseball history on Sunday afternoon, when they clinched the third NL Wild Card on the final day of the regular season with a 7-3 victory over the Rays.
It shouldn’t have taken them this long.
But they’re in.
Now, the Phillies will travel to Atlanta to play the Braves in the best-of-three NL Wild Card Series at Truist Park. Here are a few things you might want to know before Game 1 on Tuesday at 2 p.m. ET:
Who will the Phillies play?
It’s their friendly NL East rival Atlanta.
The Phillies went 4-9 against the Braves this season, which includes a 1-5 record against them in April and a 3-4 record against them in September.
Braves ace Chris Sale (14-9, 2.16 ERA) is set to pitch the series opener. He went 3-0 with a 2.08 ERA in four starts against the Phillies this season, although the Phils scored three runs in seven innings against him on Sept. 11. It’s not exactly encouraging, but they had scored only three runs in 19 innings against him in their first three meetings.
How can you watch?
All three games are scheduled for 2 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. Game 1 is Tuesday, Game 2 is Wednesday and Game 3 (if necessary) is Thursday. If the Phillies win the series, they will play the Dodgers in the NL Division Series, with Game 1 on Saturday at Dodger Stadium.
Projected 26-man roster
There’s a good chance the Phillies’ projected roster will look completely different, especially since Luis Arraez has a sprained left ankle and hasn’t played since Thursday. Right now, we’re leaving him off the roster. But the Phillies haven’t placed him on the 10-day injured list, so he’s hypothetically still in play.
C: J.T. Realmuto, Garrett Stubbs
1B: Alec Bohm
2B: Bryson Stott
3B: Edmundo Sosa
SS: Trea Turner
OF: Justin Crawford, Bryan De La Cruz, Bryce Harper, Derek Hill, Brandon Marsh
DH: Kyle Schwarber
UTIL: Otto Kemp (Kemp is one of only two infielders at the team’s “stay ready” camp in Allentown, Pa. The other is Robert Moore.)
Rotation: Jesús Luzardo, Aaron Nola, Andrew Painter, Cristopher Sánchez, Zack Wheeler
Bullpen: José Alvarado, Tanner Banks, Jonathan Bowlan, Jhoan Duran, Tim Mayza, Alex McFarlane, Brooks Raley, Chase Shugart
Who starts Game 1?
It was supposed to be Wheeler, but he threw six innings on Sunday to get them in the postseason.
It could be Luzardo, who was activated from the injured list on Sunday and threw a four-pitch eighth inning. Painter threw a bullpen session on Sunday, putting him in position to start Game 1 on normal rest. Aaron Nola threw 21 pitches on short rest on Saturday. If the Phillies want an experienced pitcher, he could be the guy.
Who are Don Mattingly’s setup men for Duran?
Uh, well … that’s a real issue. McFarlane and Alvarado are probably the guys. Bowlan could, too, if he’s healthy. But the Phillies have five healthy starters and only need three to start, so two of them could come out of the bullpen. Wheeler figures to be one of them, because he started on Sunday. Perhaps Luzardo or Painter can help, too.