Rolled-up tarps line the lockers throughout the Phillies’ clubhouse, each held together by a black zip tie.
That’s all that’s keeping them closed.
If only the Phillies’ path to the postseason were as simple as snipping one of those ties.
Instead, they’re making their lives increasingly difficult.
On Friday, they welcomed the Tampa Bay Rays to town. Tampa Bay had already clinched the top seed in the American League, while Philadelphia was still trying to secure its fifth consecutive postseason berth.
Again, the Phillies got a strong pitching performance from left-handed ace Cristopher Sánchez. Again, the offense was nowhere to be found in their 2-0 loss at Citizens Bank Park.
The lineup looks almost unrecognizable compared with the one that carried Philadelphia through August. And these struggles have come precisely when the Phillies have needed to take care of their own business.
Interim manager Don Mattingly wasn’t interested in discussing what the club could have done differently over the last several games. Not with only two remaining.
“At this point in the year, we’ve taken thousands of swings, taken thousands of ground balls. Guys have worked all year. It’s not about that,” Mattingly said. “We just gotta be able to get it done now.”
The Phillies held a hitters’ meeting before Friday’s game, with Mattingly saying everybody had an opportunity to speak. He declined to share the specifics of the conversation, but Kyle Schwarber offered some insight afterward.
“We know the situation we’re in,” Schwarber said. “We want to do it our way. We want to have the ball in our court, and we didn’t get it done today.”
Friday’s matchup offered a particularly striking example of how much things have changed.
The Phillies faced Freddy Peralta, whom the Rays acquired from the New York Mets at the August trade deadline. Philadelphia had seen him once before this season, on June 20 at Citizens Bank Park.
Remember Bryce Harper hitting for the cycle?
Kyle Schwarber hitting three home runs?
The Phillies tagging Peralta for a career-high 10 runs in just 2 2/3 innings?
Yeah, that one.
Peralta has since found his stride with Tampa Bay, and Friday’s version looked considerably different from the pitcher the Phillies saw three months ago.
Mattingly thought his stuff was better, though he didn’t see a substantial change in how the right-hander attacked Philadelphia.
But the Phillies’ offense has undergone a transformation of its own, and not for the better.
Take the sixth inning.
Playing without Luis Arraez, who suffered a left ankle sprain Thursday, the Phillies had Peralta on the ropes when Trea Turner led off with a well-struck, opposite-field single. Harper followed with a bloop single, putting two runners aboard with nobody out.
Alec Bohm entered the night batting .355 with runners in scoring position. But he hit a soft grounder directly to first baseman Jonathan Aranda, who recorded the out at first.
That left runners on second and third for Bryson Stott, another hitter who has been productive in those situations.
The Rays went to left-hander Cam Booser, and Stott lined out to second.
Mattingly then opted to pinch-hit for Brandon Marsh. Rather than turning to Derek Hill, the interim manager went with Bryan De La Cruz, who entered batting .229 against left-handed pitching this season.
De La Cruz hit a sinking liner toward shortstop, but Jorge Mateo was positioned perfectly to make the play.
Inning over.
It was another opportunity for the Phillies to get back into a game, and another one that passed without a run. They are 1-for-19 with runners in scoring position over their last three games and managed just four total hits Friday.
It’s difficult to watch this lineup right now and not wonder whether the pressure is starting to affect its approach.
Schwarber rejected that notion.
“Pressing’s an excuse,” he said.
The veteran slugger pointed specifically to the sixth inning, when Stott and De La Cruz both made contact but had nothing to show for it. He also referenced several hard-hit balls during the Milwaukee series that found gloves rather than grass.
There have certainly been poor at-bats throughout this stretch, but Schwarber believes the Phillies have also had their share of opportunities in which the results haven’t reflected the quality of their contact.
“There’s also been a lot of really good at-bats that just haven’t resulted in things being in a positive way for us,” Schwarber said. “That’s baseball for you, where it’ll test you. You have to keep finding a way to not think about those things and get to your next at-bat.”
Mattingly, meanwhile, acknowledged that the Phillies might be feeling the pressure as the finish line approaches. But he wasn’t about to make excuses for another scoreless night.
“We give ourselves a lot of chances,” he said. “Whatever happened tonight, we’re not getting back. And so we have to be ready to play tomorrow.”
Their deficits have started to feel increasingly difficult to overcome. And even when the offense has managed to fight its way back, the bullpen has too often struggled to protect a lead.
That wasn’t a problem Sánchez created Friday.
The left-hander struck out 10 over seven innings, allowing just two runs against one of the American League’s better lineups. He worked efficiently, missed bats and gave the Phillies another opportunity to win a game they desperately needed.
It could have been a different story when Rays third baseman Junior Caminero drove a ball deep toward center with a runner aboard. But the wind whipping through Citizens Bank Park ahead of the incoming nor’easter knocked it down, carrying the ball back into Justin Crawford’s glove.
According to Statcast, the wind gusts took approximately 42 feet off the drive.
Sánchez wasn’t interested in taking much satisfaction from his final regular-season start.
“Not as good. I mean, we lost,” he said when asked to evaluate his outing and season overall. “It was an up-and-down year without a lot of highs and lows.”
The left-hander also pushed back on the idea that the team’s recent struggles have affected the mood inside the dugout. He thought the Phillies brought plenty of energy Friday, even if it never translated into runs.
And he still believes they’ll finish the job.
“Even if we’re struggling, we’re blessed with the opportunity that we may be able to get a spot tomorrow or the day after that,” Sánchez said. “Today’s over. Nothing we can do about tonight. We just have to keep going, try to play good baseball and try to win games.”
Even getting another strong start from Sánchez wasn’t enough to ease the pressure.
And now the Phillies are running out of games.
There’s a wrinkle, though.
Severe rain is forecast for the remainder of the weekend, potentially complicating the Phillies’ final two scheduled games against Tampa Bay. Major League Baseball could be forced to consider a doubleheader, a Monday makeup game or even an alternate site if conditions prevent the teams from playing in Philadelphia.
Whatever the weather brings, those games will need to be accounted for if they can determine the final National League postseason berth.
The Arizona Diamondbacks entered Friday two games behind the Phillies before beginning their final three-game series against the San Diego Padres, who have already clinched a Wild Card berth.
Philadelphia’s magic number stood at two entering the night. Any combination of two Phillies wins or two Diamondbacks losses would secure its place in October.
The complication is the tiebreaker.
The Phillies and Diamondbacks split their six meetings this season, leaving their records within their respective divisions as the next deciding factor. Arizona holds that advantage, meaning the Phillies would miss the postseason if the teams finish with identical records.
There’s no Game 163 to settle it anymore.
The Phillies have spent months climbing out of a 9-19 start, putting themselves in position for another trip to October. Yet with the finish line right in front of them, they haven’t been able to cross it.
Asked how daunting the situation has become, Mattingly pointed to the one advantage the Phillies still have.
“I guess I’d rather be in our spot than theirs, because we can still control our own destiny,” he said.
But he wasn’t interested in spending much time discussing the standings or the ramifications of another loss.
“None of that matters, how daunting it looks or what it looks like,” Mattingly said.
Schwarber shared that sentiment. The Phillies still have the opportunity to determine their own future, and he doesn’t believe this veteran group needs to be reminded of what’s at stake.
“There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it. You move on to tomorrow. You have to find a way to win a game tomorrow,” Schwarber said. “We got two left. Still got the ball in our court right now, and if we go out there and we do what we need to do, we control our own future.”
Schwarber acknowledged the frustration. He expects the Phillies to win every time they take the field, but he believes the group has enough experience to separate one loss from the next.
Now it’s a matter of doing it with the season on the line.
“That’s what happens when you get to the end of the year,” he said. “As baseball players, it’s what you thrive for.”
The Phillies still control their path, regardless of the weather or what happens between Arizona and San Diego.
All they need to do is take care of their own business.
Those tarps in the clubhouse are waiting.