Philadelphia Phillies Facing Brutal Game 1 Decision

The Philadelphia Phillies punched their ticket to the playoffs on Sunday, beating the Tampa Bay Rays by score of 7-3 behind six strong innings from Zack Wheeler.

The good news? The Phillies are in the postseason. The bad news? They don't know who their Game 1 starter will be against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday.

The Braves will be sending ace Chris Sale to the mound, which already gives them a significant advantage heading into the Wild Card Series.

But what will Philadelphia do?

Wheeler is now ruled out for the first couple of games — and possibly even Game 3, if there is one — after pitching on Sunday. And had the Phillies not waited until the final day of the regular season to clinch a playoff berth, Wheeler wouldn't have had to pitch in the series finale against the Rays.

Cristopher Sanchez on Friday in a 2-0 loss, so while he'll be able to go Game 2, he won't be available for Game 1. Aaron Nola got rocked on Saturday night. Jesus Luzardo pitched one inning out of the bullpen in his return from injury Sunday afternoon, but it seems highly doubtful he will get the nod on Tuesday.

Does that mean the Phillies could actually start Andrew Painter in their series opener?

To be quite frank, they may not have much of a choice.

Yes, Painter, who was demoted to Triple-A midway through the season before returning in late July, seems like the most probable choice for Philadelphia in Game 1 versus Atlanta, and that is certainly concerning.

Painter was definitely better after being recalled during the second half of the season, logging a 3.65 ERA and 1.151 WHIP over 11 starts. He also pitched very well against the Milwaukee Brewers in his last outing.

But how much can the Phillies actually depend on a 23-year-old rookie who finished the campaign with a 5.40 ERA?

Philadelphia could employ a strategy where it starts the game with Painter, then follows up with Luzardo depending on how Painter pitches. The Phillies can then mix and match with their bullpen (gulp) the rest of the way.

What's frustrating about this whole situation is that Philly was surely planning to have Wheeler ready to go for the opener. But that can't happen now because of how much Philadelphia stumbled down the stretch.

We'll see how the Phillies proceed, but there is a good chance that Painter ends up getting the ball in Atlanta on Tuesday afternoon.