PHILADELPHIA -- Jesús Luzardo returned to the Phillies’ pitching staff in efficient fashion on Sunday afternoon.

PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies celebrated.

As the Red Sox and Yankees are battling in New York, one of baseball’s other great rivalries will be on display in Atlanta.

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.

PHILADELPHIA -- One way or another, it ends on Sunday. The Phillies will either clinch an NL Wild Card and a fifth consecutive trip to the postseason following the 162nd game of the regular season, or they will suffer the second-worst collapse in franchise history, miss the playoffs entirely and

PHILADELPHIA -- Saturday night’s Phillies game against Tampa Bay should have been a tuneup for the postseason. Instead, it was about survival. Now, Sunday's is as well.

PHILADELPHIA -- Bryce Harper blooped a single into shallow right-center field in the sixth inning on Friday night. He reached first base, clapped, then turned toward his teammates in the dugout. He gestured to them. “Let’s go.”

PHILADELPHIA -- It sounds like Luis Arraez's sprained left ankle is as bad as it looked on Thursday night. Arraez got an MRI exam on Friday morning. Asked about the report, Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said on Friday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park, “Yeah, kind of not a great

PHILADELPHIA -- Bryce Harper emphasized the same point a few times on Thursday night. It was a simple response to questions about a situation the Phillies have made unnecessarily complicated in recent days.

PHILADELPHIA -- As poorly as the Phillies have played recently, they still control their destiny with three games to play in the regular season. But will they play those games without Luis Arraez?

PHILADELPHIA -- A crowd of Phillies players, coaches and staff watched Jesús Luzardo pitch in the bullpen on Thursday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.

This story was excerpted from Todd Zolecki’s Phillies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies’ clubhouse staff on Wednesday hung rolled-up plastic sheeting above the lockers inside the home clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park. The Phils could have clinched an NL Wild Card berth a few hours later, if they beat the Brewers and if the Diamondbacks or Padres lost. But

PHILADELPHIA -- Zack Wheeler knew he needed three strikeouts on Tuesday night to reach 2,000 for his career. He wasted no time.

PHILADELPHIA -- The last time Brandon Marsh homered, it landed in a corn field in Dyersville, Iowa. That was 40 days and 80 at-bats ago.

PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies continue to say good things about Jesús Luzardo's recovery from left shoulder inflammation, but they stopped short of saying when he might throw off a mound again. Luzardo played catch on Monday and Tuesday at Citizens Bank Park. Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said before Tuesday

NEW YORK -- Jesús Luzardo played catch for 10 minutes in the Citi Field outfield on Sunday morning, and the experience made him smile afterward. “It’s a good day,” he said.

NEW YORK -- Twenty minutes after the final out of the Phillies’ 10-3 blowout loss to the Mets on Saturday night at Citi Field, Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly summoned Orion Kerkering to his office. A few minutes later, Kerkering emerged, visibly shaken. He looked at his phone, then dropped

NEW YORK -- Orion Kerkering sat in front of his locker inside a mostly empty visitors’ clubhouse late Friday night at Citi Field. He had started the sixth inning of a one-run game against the Mets, but five batters later, he surrendered a three-run home run to Juan Soto to

NEW YORK -- Phillies reliever Jonathan Bowlan has a “mild” right groin strain, but he will not be placed on the 15-day injured list. There is a reason for that: If Bowlan is placed on the injured list, he would be ineligible to pitch in the NL Wild Card Series.

NEW YORK -- The Phillies’ late-inning bullpen situation is tenuous at best, and that was before Jonathan Bowlan left Thursday night’s 3-0 victory over the Mets at Citi Field in the eighth inning with tightness in his right groin. Bowlan tweaked his groin on a 1-1 pitch to Francisco Lindor.

NEW YORK -- It’s difficult to imagine a successful Phillies postseason without Jesús Luzardo. He’s been their best pitcher for months.

This story was excerpted from Todd Zolecki's Phillies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

This story was excerpted from Todd Zolecki’s Phillies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ATLANTA -- Phillies rookie Andrew Painter has pitched better than he did on Sunday afternoon at Truist Park, but he showed something. Painter struggled with his command in the heat and humidity, but he left with a one-run lead in the fifth inning in a 9-4 victory over the Braves.