With three games remaining in the 2020 regular season, the Philadelphia Phillies still have a chance at a playoff spot.
Headed into the weekend with a 28-29 record, the Phillies have a 50.5% chance at making the playoffs per Fangraphs. They sit a half game back of the second wild card spot currently occupied by the Gabe Kapler and the San Francisco Giants.
The Phillies take on the Tampa Bay Rays this weekend, the best team in the American League. The Rays don't have much to play for other than locking up the number one seed in the AL. Still, they have a deep pitching staff and won't be easy to beat. The good news: Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow both pitched against the Mets this week, so the Phillies are unlikely to see them.
MLB.com
Here are the pitching matchups this weekend:
Friday: Vince Velasquez vs Charlie Morton
Saturday: Zack Wheeler vs TBD
Sunday: Aaron Nola vs TBD
Here is what needs to happen in the other series around the NL and how the Phillies get into the playoffs:
Marlins (29-28) vs Yankees (32-25)
GB: 1
Tiebreaker: Marlins
If the Phillies go 3-0, they need the Marlins to go 1-2 or worst to move into second place. The Yankees are still fighting for the four seed in the AL, but they need to sweep and see the White Sox get swept in order for that to happen. Point being: there is motivation for the Yankees to show up this weekend.
Padres (34-22) vs Giants (28-28)
GB: 0.5
Tiebreaker: Phillies
The Giants lost in extra-innings last night to the Rockies and face a four-game series against a Padres team locked into the playoffs already. If the Phillies and Giants finish the season with the same overall record, the Phillies will be in the playoffs.
Reds (29-28) vs Twins (35-22)
GB: 1
Tiebreaker: Reds
Thanks to a big win last night against the Brewers, the Reds have an 86% chance to make the playoffs according to Fangraphs. If they win one game this weekend, the Phillies would have to sweep the Rays to overtake their spot.
Brewers (27-29) vs Cardinals (28-26)
This five-game series is going to be something. The Cardinals may play two make-up games in Detroit on Monday if it has any impact on which teams make it to the postseason, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. So, if the Brewers win this series and earn a playoff spot, the Cardinals get redemption.
How does this affect the Phillies? Well, that's tough to say. Four NL Central teams are battling it out for three potential playoff spots. The Cubs are about to lock up the division and the Reds need one more win to clinch second. If the Cardinals and Brewers split their doubleheader on Friday and the Phillies win, the Phillies own a tiebreaker over the Brewers and are a half game back of the Cardinals.
There is a scenario where the Cardinals need to play those final two games against Detroit and could knock out a wild card team depending on tiebreakers.
