Phillies avoid disaster, clinch NL's final wild-card spot after near-collapse ahead of D-backs

The Philadelphia Phillies can exhale. Which isn't the sign of a regular season where everything went according to plan.

With a 7-3 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, the Phillies clinched the third and final wild-card spot in the National League, holding off a late charge from the Arizona Diamondbacks . They will play the division rival Atlanta Braves in the wild-card round.

Philadelphia could have clinched a playoff spot as early as Wednesday, which it entered as part of a three-way tie with the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres at 87-70. The D-backs were seemingly dead in the water, four games back from the trio with five games each left to play.

As MLB reached the final day of the regular season, the Phillies entered Sunday with a one-game lead on the D-backs, but it was Arizona who held the tiebreaker. That created a clinching scenario in which the Phillies could avoid disaster with either a win or a D-backs loss.

The Phillies treated the weekend like it was facing an elimination game, first starting Aaron Nola on short rest in their 12-1 loss to the Rays on Saturday then activating Jesús Luzardo from the injured list to come out of the bullpen behind Zack Wheeler on Sunday.

Wheeler delivered what was needed with a 6-inning start consisting of 5 hits, 1 run, 0 walks and 5 strikeouts on 97 pitches. Luzardo got the ball in the eighth inning and recorded three straight groundouts before handing the ball to closer Jhoan Duran .

Meanwhile, the Phillies offense posted more runs in the first two innings than they had in the previous four games combined, with Bryson Stott , J.T. Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber all delivering RBI doubles. Disaster avoided.

Even with a loss, the Phillies would have been safe thanks to the D-backs' 9-4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks around the same time.

The Phillies' reward will be a three-game road series against the Braves, against whom they went 4-9 this season. Advancing will be a tall order, but it beats the alternative of what would have been described as the second coming of the "Phold," the Phillies' infamous September collapse in 1964.

It will be the Phillies' fifth straight playoff berth, but they are still looking for their first World Series title since 2008. They have not won a playoff series since the 2023 NLDS.