Philadelphia Phillies Clinch a Wild Card Date With the Braves

The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays by a score of 7-3 on Sunday afternoon, clinching a playoff spot and setting up a Wild Card Series with the Atlanta Braves this week.

The Phillies will play Game 1 in Atlanta on Tuesday afternoon at 2 p.m. ET and will then take the field for Game 2 at the same time Wednesday. If there is a Game 3, it will be played on Thursday at 2 p.m. ET.

Philadelphia did not make this easy, literally going down to the wire in order to punch its ticket to the postseason.

But the Phillies were able to get the job done and completed their turnaround from a 9-19 start to the campaign, which resulted in the firing of manager Rob Thomson.

Don Mattingly took over and led Philadelphia to a 79-55 mark under his direction, which was certainly impressive.

How the Phillies ended the regular season, though, was not.

Philadelphia went just 10-14 in the month of September and had lost four straight heading into the final game of the year against the Rays. The offense mustered just three runs during that four-game losing streak, and the bullpen was atrocious.

Thankfully, Zack Wheeler tossed another gem on Sunday, going six innings and allowing just one run on five hits. Alex McFarlane did his best to make it interesting out of the pen, surrendering a couple of runs in one inning of work, but Jesus Luzardo then pitched a scoreless inning of relief, and Jhoan Duran shut the door in the ninth inning.

The Phillies finished the season 88-74 to nab the final Wild Card spot in the National League. Their reward? The Braves.

Atlanta went 94-68 and features one of baseball's best lineups. It also boasts Chris Sale at the top of its rotation, making it a very tough out.

Philadelphia went just 4-9 against the Braves during the regular season, most recently losing two out of three in Atlanta earlier this month.

The Phillies certainly won't be favored in this playoff series, and how could they? They are not playing their best baseball heading into the postseason. Their offense has largely been anemic and their bullpen has been an adventure.

It also is unfortunate that Wheeler was forced to pitch on Sunday, which rules him out for Games 1 and 2 of the Wild Card Series. At least as a starter.

We'll see if Philadelphia can find a way to pull off the upset.