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PHILADELPHIA (AP) — With their NL wild card hopes slipping away, the Philadelphia Phillies will hand the ball to Aaron Nola on just two days' rest against the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday.
Nola, who holds a 7-11 record with a 4.54 ERA, last pitched on Wednesday, striking out eight over six innings but taking the loss in a 4-1 defeat to Milwaukee. The Phillies then dropped the next two games, and their lead over Arizona for the final wild card spot has shrunk to a single game. Arizona was set to play San Diego on Saturday night.
Philadelphia has struggled mightily in September, posting a 9-13 record, and its magic number remained at two entering Saturday. The Padres and Chicago Cubs have already secured wild card spots.
If the race extends to Sunday, the Phillies would be forced to use ace Zack Wheeler, which would prevent him from starting a potential Game 1 or 2 in the NL Wild Card Series. According to Mattingly, the team only briefly considered moving Wheeler up a day.
Nola skipped his usual bullpen session on Friday to be ready for the AL East champion Rays. Mattingly noted that the right-hander typically throws 40-to-50-pitch bullpen sessions between starts and may not go much beyond that on Saturday.
"If anybody's built for this," Mattingly said, "it's probably Nola. He's a guy that's probably more old-school than anybody."
The Phillies are also dealing with the absence of All-Star lefty Jesús Luzardo, who is on the injured list with left shoulder inflammation. Luzardo is eligible to be activated on Sunday and could pitch if needed.
Philadelphia's offensive woes continued in Friday's 2-0 loss to Tampa Bay, marking the 12th time they've been shut out this season. The team has scored just two runs over its last 27 innings and has homered only once in its last 55 innings.
Catcher J.T. Realmuto is mired in an 0-for-32 slump that has dropped his average to .206. NL batting leader and starting second baseman Luis Arraez is out indefinitely with a severely sprained left ankle. His absence has forced lineup changes over the past two games, with Bryce Harper returning to first base and Bryan De La Cruz starting in right field. Bryson Stott has filled in at second base.
The Phillies could have clinched a wild card as early as Wednesday, but now find themselves in a precarious position. As heavy rain fell at the ballpark on Saturday, the team is suddenly being mentioned among the franchise's potential epic collapses.
"I just think there's pressure all the time," Mattingly said before the game. "I've always felt if you put pressure on yourself all the time to perform and hold yourself to a standard, this game is really no different than any other game. Obviously, we know there's a lot at stake. That's the beauty of kind of playing at a level all the time."
Key Analysis
The Phillies' decision to start Nola on short rest underscores the urgency of their situation. With their playoff odds dwindling, they are hoping Nola can deliver a strong performance and stop the bleeding. However, the move also highlights the team's lack of reliable starting pitching depth, as they are forced to push their ace and potentially compromise their postseason rotation. The offensive struggles and injuries to key players like Arraez and Realmuto have only compounded the pressure. As the regular season winds down, Philadelphia must find a way to reverse its fortunes quickly or risk a historic collapse.
Originally reported by local10.