The Phillies spent the final week of September turning what should’ve been a normal playoff rotation into emergency baseball.. and the bill finally showed up in Atlanta.
They had a four-game lead for the final Wild Card spot with five games left, lost four straight, started Aaron Nola on short rest in Game 161, then needed Zack Wheeler in Game 162 just to finally clinch.
Fast forward to winner-take-all Game 3. Nola walks the first two guys and Michael Harris II hits a three-run homer. Wheeler comes in on THREE days’ rest and Ozzie Albies gets him for another two-run homer. It’s 5-0 before Philly’s offense even scores.
And that offense went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position, so there isn’t even one convenient thing to blame. The Braves beat them 6-2 and ended their season.
