The Philadelphia Phillies are trying to hold on for dear life to the final NL wildcard spot, but they'll have to do it against one of the best teams in baseball, the Houston Astros. The Phillies begin the final three games of the season at Houston on Monday and only the playoffs are at stake. First pitch is at 8:10 p.m. ET at Minute Maid Park in Houston.
It all comes down these last three games for the Phillies in terms of whether or not they will make the post season. They got a little breathing room on Sunday, beating the Nationals 8-1. Meanwhile, the Brewers lost a heartbreaker to the Marlins, falling 4-3 in 12 innings. As a result, the Phillies come into this final series with a record of 86-73 and have a 2 game lead on the Brewers with three to go. Plus they are just 1.5 games behind the Padres for second place so that is still in play.
The Phillies magic number is??
Phillies win again. Brewers lost again.
One more Phillies win or a Brewers loss and the Phillies clinch a playoff spot! pic.twitter.com/ny7eKpePjp
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) October 2, 2022
Aaron Nola gets the start for the Phillies on Monday. Nola, a right hander, is 10-13 on the season with an ERA of 3.36 in 31 starts. He has 226 strikeouts and 29 walks in 198.1 innings pitched. Nola is third in the National League in strikeouts and has an outside chance to win the strikeout title with a big performance. In his last outing he lost to the Cubs, allowing 4 runs on 5 hits in 6 innings with 8 strikeouts. The Phillies have a team ERA of 3.97, which ranks 17th in baseball. The bullpen has an ERA of 4.25, which ranks 23rd in the league.