Game 162 is upon us. With a stormy forecast set for Sunday, the Philadelphia Phillies must wait out Mother Nature to get their final game of the 2026 MLB regular season in.
Somehow, despite having lost four straight games when the team’s magic number sat at two, the Phillies are still in the driver’s seat as Game 162 is upon us. Coming off a 12-1 blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday, they remain one game ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final Wild Card slot in the National League.
What could have been a tumultuous Sunday in the NL Wild Card hunt instead presents itself as a simple landscape.
The San Diego Padres (90-71) own the top Wild Card slot over the Chicago Cubs (88-73) by a two-game advantage. Though the Phillies (87-74) could have the same record as the Cubs by days’ end, they only won one of their seven games against Chicago this season, giving the North Siders the tiebreaker.
Sitting with a one-game lead over Arizona (86-75), Philadelphia needs to end the day with a better record than Arizona to maintain its Wild Card slot. Whether it is Philadelphia or Arizona, however, the final Wild Card team will travel to Atlanta to face the NL East champions in the Wild Card Series.
With both teams set to begin their games in the 3 o'clock hour, Phillies fans will be watching both the Phillies take on the Rays and the Diamondbacks take on the Padres.
If the Phillies and Diamondbacks both win, the Phillies will have a better record, and the Phillies will make the postseason.
Should the Phillies win and the Diamondbacks lose, the Phillies will end up with a better record, and the Phillies will make the postseason.
If the Phillies lose and the Diamondbacks win, the Phillies and Diamondbacks will have the same record, sparking a tiebreaker, and the Diamondbacks will make the postseason.
And finally, if the Phillies and Diamondbacks both lose, the Phillies will have a better record, and the Phillies will make the postseason while riding a five-game losing streak.
Four possible scenarios. Three of four would send the Phillies to the postseason. After four straight losses, none feels particularly reassuring.
Things easily could have been different for the Phillies. In their dealings with the Diamondbacks this season, they went 3-3, with all three of their losses coming from a one-run deficit. Had the Phillies won any of those three contests, they would be sitting secure in their postseason plans.
Instead, they must deploy Zack Wheeler, who the Phillies would have rather saved for Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, to start a rainy Game 162 against a team that just mopped the floor with them. They even plan to activate Jesús Luzardo and may need to deploy him in relief should the game call for it.
First pitch is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. for Fan Appreciation Day, though fans may not appreciate any of the potential weather delays.
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