Major collapse averted, Phillies secure wild card
Trending
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Kyle Schwarber belly-flopped more than he actually slid headfirst into second base and popped up with his uniform smudged in dirt. He punched his right fist in the air and shouted something in exhilaration toward a fired-up Phillies dugout.
Schwarber delivered with a clutch two-run double, yes. He also showed the fire, the fight that vanished from the Phillies during a treacherous week that sent them from the brink of a wild-card clinch to the edge -- and yes, the bottom was crumbling -- of an all-time franchise collapse.
His slide had Phillies fans roaring from their feet -- perhaps more than a few who wore brown paper bags over their heads a night earlier -- and instantly all felt right on a soggy day inside Citizens Bank Park.
Zack Wheeler pitched a gem against Tampa Bay on Sunday and untangled a few thousand knots inside the stomachs of Phillies fans, and even from those inside a mostly solemn clubhouse. The Phillies survived their perilous five-day scare and are indeed headed to the playoffs for the fifth straight season, beating the Rays 7-3 to clinch the final NL wild-card berth.
Jhoan Duran struck out Nick Fortes to end it. Duran pounded his mitt and was greeted by teammates for a fairly muted celebration on the field.
PADRES 9, D-BACKS 4
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- The Arizona Diamondbacks missed the playoffs for the eighth time in nine seasons, losing 9-4 Sunday to the postseason-bound San Diego Padres shortly after the Philadelphia Phillies won to clinch the final NL wild card spot.
The Diamondbacks (86-76) began the regular season’s final day with the chance to advance if they won and the Phillies lost, but neither happened. Arizona made a six-win improvement on last season’s 80-82 mark, but a stunning World Series run in 2023 remains its only postseason appearance since 2017 despite five winning records in that stretch.
Gavin Sheets homered and Freddy Fermin drove in three runs for the Padres, who rested Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill and Xavier Bogaerts in their meaningless season finale. San Diego locked up the top NL wild card berth on Saturday before finishing 91-71, topping last year’s 90-win campaign with a club-record fifth consecutive winning season.
The Padres finished on a 17-3 surge, winning their final seven series. After sitting with a losing record in late July, the Padres will host the Chicago Cubs starting Tuesday night in their third consecutive trip to the postseason, another franchise first.
TWINS 6, RANGERS 4
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- The Texas Rangers were eliminated from postseason contention on the final day of the regular season with a 6-4 loss Sunday to the Minnesota Twins, who got a home run and three RBIs from Josh Bell to back Dean Kremer’s seven innings of one-run pitching.
Texas (80-82) needed a win and a Houston loss to the Athletics. Houston (80-81), which held the division tiebreaker, was leading 8-0 in the eighth inning when the Rangers game ended.
Minnesota finished 77-85, a seven-win improvement in manager Derek Shelton’s first season.
Kremer (5-5) gave up three hits, retiring 15 of his last 16 hitters. He went 4-1 with a 3.48 ERA in 10 starts after the Twins acquired him from Baltimore on Aug. 1.
Bell’s first-inning sacrifice fly was offset by Danny Jansen’s third-inning solo homer for the Rangers. Bell put the Twins ahead for good at 3-1 with a two-run homer off reliever Chase Silseth (0-2).