Just a couple of weeks ago, the Philadelphia Phillies looked like legit playoff contenders: their rotation was good, Bryce Harper was producing after a long injury layoff, and everything was set for their first postseason appearance since 2011.
Not so fast.
After losing 10 of their last 13 games, Philadelphia’s postseason hopes are hanging from a thread.
They have been caught in the standings by the Milwaukee Brewers in the third and last Wild Card spot.
Both teams have an 83-72 record after the Chicago Cubs, of all teams, just completed a sweep of the Phillies.
“The Cubs just swept the Wild Card contending Phillies. They love playing spoiler,” B/R Walk-Off tweeted on Thursday.
The Cubs just swept the Wild Card contending Phillies.
They love playing spoiler 🤯 pic.twitter.com/QewAV1Q3mg
— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) September 29, 2022
Rookie Javier Assad spun five scoreless frames, and Keegan Thompson tossed three scoreless innings in relief to complete the sweep.
As B/R Walk-Off tweeted in the replies: Brewers fans, make sure to thank a Cubs fan today.
The Cubs’ Feat Has The Wild Card Race On Fire
Since the Phillies still hold the tiebreaker against the Brewers by virtue of winning the season matchup, 4-2, Milwaukee would need to finish ahead of Philadelphia in the standings to go to the playoffs.
At 7:40 pm ET on Thursday, the Brewers will host the visiting Miami Marlins as they look to gain sole possession of that last Wild Card spot with a victory.
If the Phillies end up missing the postseason, it should be considered a collapse of epic proportions.
It would be both sad and unfair to fans if that is the case: Philadelphia is a passionate baseball city that deserves postseason baseball.
There are still a couple of series to go, but they need to win and they need to do it soon.
As for the Cubs, they will finish the season with a lousy record, but they find solace on the fact that they should be better next year.
For now, they are playing spoiler.
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