The Philadelphia Phillies were the story of baseball in the immediate aftermath of the trade deadline, considering their run in August had them looking the biggest playoff threat in the National League. Then, September happened, and it took until Game 162 for Philadelphia to lock down their spot in the playoffs.
Even with the win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, the sense is that the Phillies essentially backed into the playoffs. There's still the question of how lifeless their offense looked over the last two weeks, and being forced to use Cristopher Sánchez, Zack Wheeler, and Jesús Luzardo over the weekend could throw a wrinkle into their plans for the NL Wild Card series against the Atlanta Braves.
Unfortunately, that is the reality of the Phillies' near-collapse in September. They were forced to exhaust all of their options just to make sure they reached the NL Wild Card series against the Braves, and now may be behind the eight ball against their division rival.
Considering the other NL Wild Card series is between the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres, and the Yankees and Red Sox are once again facing each other in the AL Wild Card, it seemed likely that the Phillies and Braves weren't going to get primetime placement for their series.
Phillies barely escaped an embarrassing September collapse but couldn't escape brutal playoff schedule
MLB revealed the Wild Card schedule on Sunday morning, and the Phillies and Braves drew the short stick. The two teams will play at 2pm EST on Tuesday and Wednesday, signaling that baseball kind of wants to get that series out of the way as fast as possible.
As for a potential Game 3, there are various factors at play. If both the AL Wild Card series have concluded, a Game 3 between the Phillies and Braves would be at 2pm on Thursday. If the series between the Red Sox and Yankees and Cubs and Padres are over, then the game would be at 8pm. If the series between the Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros and the Cubs and Padres are over, then Thursday's Game 3 would be at 2pm.
Of course, if the Phillies make it past the Braves this week, waiting for them in the NLDS will be the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now, considering it's the Dodgers, chances are that series will get the primetime treatment. And the Phillies will have actually earned it with a meaningful win.
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