Phillies Might Not Be Doomed Against the Braves After All

The Philadelphia Phillies barely squeaked into the playoffs on Sunday, avoiding a historically bad collapse by beating the Tampa Bay Rays 7-3 and nabbing the National League's final Wild Card spot.

Now, the Phillies will face the Braves, a team against which they went just 4-9 during the regular season, and a club that will be sending Chris Sale to the mound for Game 1. Meanwhile, Philadelphia will be sending ... who? Andrew Painter maybe?

Things do look bleak for the Phillies right now. They probably won't have Zack Wheeler available to start in this series after he was forced to pitch in Sunday's clincher. That certainly creates a conundrum for Don Mattingly, especially with Jesus Luzardo coming off of a shoulder injury (he tossed one inning of relief on Sunday).

But maybe it isn't so bad for Philadelphia?

On paper, facing Sale when you don't really have a definitive starter of your own seems like a nightmare. But then, you realize that Sale has a 6.34 ERA in 10 career playoff appearances, and you suddenly like your chances a bit better.

This certainly isn't to say that the Phillies should be ecstatic they're facing Sale. Far from it. He posted a 2.16 ERA with a mind-boggling 6.45 K/BB ratio this season, and he owns a lifetime 2.95 ERA since entering the big leagues in 2010.

But he hasn't quite looked like the same pitcher in the playoffs, so perhaps Philadelphia can get to him early on Tuesday afternoon.

And if the Phillies are able to steal Game 1? Then things get really interesting, because Philadelphia will have Cristopher Sanchez on the bump for Game 2, and the injury-riddled Braves will have to use Tyler Mahle.

Yes, Mahle has been tremendous for Atlanta since being acquired at the MLB trade deadline, having logged a 1.99 ERA across nine starts. But he registered a 5.13 ERA in 18 starts with the San Francisco Giants beforehand, and he lays claim to a lifetime 4.05 ERA. He has also never pitched in the postseason.

So perhaps Mahle's run with the Braves over the last two months, while impressive (he had a 0.957 WHIP) was a bit of a mirage.

The problem for the Phillies is that their offense has been mostly non-existent in recent weeks, and while Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber showed signs of life during the team's regular-season finale, they have been slumping for quite some time.

If Philadelphia's bats are able to wake up for one more day on Tuesday, it would put a ton of pressure on Atlanta heading into Game 2.

We'll see if the Phillies can catch Sale slipping in the opener.