Game 162: The end
ATLANTA — The Phillies may not know who they play until late tomorrow night. There is so much to be decided tonight and it will make for a glorious night of baseball.
Game 162: The end
Matt Gelb, Inquirer Staff Writer
ATLANTA — The Phillies may not know who they play until late tomorrow night. There is so much to be decided tonight and it will make for a glorious night of baseball.
Two teams have suffered epic tank jobs. Atlanta still has a chance at salvaging it, but they will have to do it against a lineup of regulars for Charlie Manuel.
1. Jimmy Rollins 6
2. Chase Utley 4
3. Hunter Pence 9
4. Ryan Howard 3
5. John Mayberry Jr. 8
6. Raul Ibanez 7
7. Placido Polanco 5
8. Carlos Ruiz 2
9. Joe Blanton 1
If the Phillies win, they set a franchise record for victories in a season. And Manuel would become the team's all-time winningest manager.
Blanton is making his second start since May and he will only pitch two innings (or so). Cole Hamels follows Blanton and could pitch anywhere from one to three innings. The Phillies have been vague on that number.
Expect Vance Worley to pitch an inning of relief. Antonio Bastardo could throw again to build off a spectacular inning Tuesday.
Mayberry is in there for Shane Victorino, the lone regular to sit in Game 162. Mayberry hit a two-run home run in Game 162 last season, also a game the Braves needed to win. (And did.)
The scenarios for deciding an opponent tonight:
If STL wins and ATL loses, the Phillies play the Cardinals.
If ATL wins, STL loses, ARI loses, the Phillies will play the Diamondbacks.
If ATL wins, STL loses, ARI wins, MIL wins, the Phillies will play the Diamondbacks.
If ATL wins, STL loses, ARI wins, MIL loses, the Phillies will play the Brewers.
Have a question? Send it to Matt Gelb's Mailbag.
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Comment removed.
whew!~
— micconway- What about ATL loses, STL loses? Is there a typo up there?— manyhats
- Since when does getting three straight outs rate as spectacular?— RAS
- ATL (loss) + STL (loss) = PHL (win)— cake2025
- Would it have been asking too much to lay out the remaining couple scenarios that lead to a playoff game(s)? What the heck do we pay you for?
— Bazalite - If ATL and STL either both win or both lose, you get the playoff game. The scenarios above then play out from there.— DDiceRC
- manyhats, if ATL and STL both lose, they have a one-game playoff tomorrow in STL. I think these scenarios he laid out are only ones that would end the season today.— goodgirldaddy
- So what if Milwaukee and Diamondbacks finish with the exact same record? Who is #2 and who is #3?— Jeffy3
- Neither ATL or STL deserve to be in the playoffs; one stinks all year and has one good month. The other is ok all year and now can't find their a**! They should both go home; give the Phils a bye while MIL and ARZ play eachother.— JBinPA
- Arizona has the tiebreaker over Milwaukee. If they finish with the same record, AZ is 2 and Brewers 3.— philliesphan79
What happened to the Braves? At least with Bobby Cox we knew they would wait until the playoffs to choke.— wylies99- In addition to the scenarios above, in the event of a tiebreaker game tomorrow, here are the scenarios:
ATL wins tiebreaker with Milwaukee win tonight - Phils play AZ
ATL wins tiebreaker with Arizona loss tonight - Phil play AZ
ATL wins tiebreaker with Arizona win and Milwaukee loss tonight - Phils play Milwaukee
STL wins tiebreaker - Phils play STL
— philliesphan79 - "Arizona has the tiebreaker over Milwaukee. If they finish with the same record, AZ is 2 and Brewers 3."
How do you know this? What is this based on?— Jeffy3 - It's based on Arizona winning the head to head series. In baseball they do 1 game playoffs for division titles and wild card slots, but revert to head to head for tie-breakers regarding seeding.— philliesphan79
