There's no way the Philadelphia Phillies can blow this, right?
The Philadelphia Phillies keep losing, and the Arizona Diamondbacks keep winning. If that trend continues through Sunday, the Phillies will be on the outside looking in when it comes to the MLB playoffs.
And to make matters worse, second baseman Luis Arraez, Philadelphia's prized trade deadline acquisition who changed the course of the team's offense in August, went down with a sprained ankle in a 5-1 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday night.
Arraez's status for Friday's matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays is in question. Who knows if he'll be 100 percent at any point in this series ... or in the playoffs, if the Phillies get there.
This scenario seemed unfathomable for Philadelphia a week ago. The Phils appeared to have a Wild Card berth all but locked up. But now, here we are with three games left in the regular season and Philadelphia holding just a two-game lead over Arizona for the last Wild Card spot. And the Diamondbacks hold the tiebreaker.
Now, Arizona will be facing the San Diego Padres in a three-game road set starting Friday, and while the Padres have a Wild Card spot clinched, they are fighting for home-field advantage in the opening round of the playoffs.
That's good news for the Phillies, as it means San Diego has something to play for. It won't just lay down against the more desperate team in the D'Backs.
But the fact that Philadelphia is even in this position is excruciating, especially when its offense continues to be absolutely anemic.
And if Arraez ends up sidelined, then the Phillies will have that much more difficulty actually pushing runs across the plate ... or getting men on base at all.
Philadelphia does not want a situation in which it will have to start Zack Wheeler in Sunday's regular-season finale. That would make Wheeler unavailable for at least the first two games of the Wild Card Series.
But if the Phillies continue on their current trajectory, they may very well have to turn to Wheeler this weekend.
I will say that the Rays have already clinched the AL East division title. Other than playing for home-field advantage in a potential World Series matchup with the Los Angeles Dodgers, they have nothing to worry about in this three-game series.
That absolutely plays into Philadelphia's favor, and it should result in the Phillies taking care of business rather quickly here.
But if Philadelphia would have just gotten the job done against the Washington Nationals and New York Mets last week, it would already be in the postseason.
This is a nightmare situation for the Phillies, and it's becoming more and more tangible.
