And, so, the champagne remains on ice, at least for another day.

The Phillies arrived at Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday with a chance to wrap up a postseason berth. All they needed was a win over the Milwaukee Brewers and a loss from either Arizona or San Diego.

Even before the verdicts came in from out West, the Phils were unable to take care of their own business. They fell behind the Milwaukee Brewers early and never caught up in a 4-1 loss at Citizens Bank Park. Aaron Nola was tagged four two-out runs in six innings of work and the bats went 0 for 12 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base.

Maybe the clinch will come Thursday night.

“Obviously, we want to lock this thing down as soon as we can,” Kyle Schwarber said after the loss. “It just wasn’t our night tonight.

“We have to focus on a day at a time. We’ve been in positions like this before. We know what to do. That’s the important thing. You don’t want to ride that roller coaster of emotion. Yes, obviously, we’re all frustrated. We wanted to go out and lock this thing up tonight. But we’ve got to move on. We’ve got a game tomorrow. There’s an opportunity for us tomorrow and we’ve got to go out and find a way to win.”

The Brewers won their majors-best 99th game on the strength of a pair of homers against Nola and a solid outing from their own starter, right-hander Logan Henderson. He pitched five innings and allowed just a run.

Nola gave up two two-out homers in the first two innings of the game. Brice Turang got him in the first and Christian Yelich in the second. Turang hit a 1-2 sinker that was up in the zone. Yelich turned on a 0-1 cutter that was up and in and skied it into the right-field seats. The Brewers pushed across two more runs in the third on a softly hit two-out ground-ball single by William Contreras that just got past diving third baseman Bryson Stott.

“He kind of placed it in the right spot to get those two runs,” Nola said. “Two out runs are tough. They really are. You get one more batter out … especially on a ground ball there.”

Nola gave up just four hits over six innings. While his inability to put away the Brewers with two outs proved costly, so, too, did the Phils’ lack of offense behind him.

The top four hitters – Schwarber, Trea Turner, Bryce Harper and Luis Arraez – were a combined 1 for 15 with an infield hit and two walks.

And that 0-fer with runners in scoring position was killer.

“We always want to get the job done at the plate,” Schwarber said. “We have faith that when we have guys in scoring position, we’ll get the job done. Sure, there will be nights when you walk away frustrated that you didn’t get the job done. But I’m going to take our chances more than not with this group.”

Manager Don Mattingly sensed hitters were trying to do too much with runners in scoring position.

“We kept giving ourselves chances,” he said. “We just weren’t able to cash in.

“Everybody always wants to get a hit in those spots. The ones that are frustrating are when you get guys up there with less than two outs. You don’t necessarily need a hit to get a run. You can just get one here, one there. Those are more frustrating than not getting a hit.”

With just four games remaining, Nola will not pitch again in the regular season. His role in the postseason is still up in the air. It’s conceivable he could start the second or third game of the first round. That could change if Jesús Luzardo makes a rapid recovery from the shoulder inflammation that landed him on the injured list last week.

Luzardo, who is eligible to return Sunday, continues to play catch on flat ground without any problems. His next step would be to throw off a bullpen mound, possibly as early as Thursday. There was some chatter Wednesday that he could pitch a simulated game over the weekend as team officials gauge his readiness for the first round of the playoffs.

If Luzardo is deemed ready for the first round, he could work out of the bullpen, an area that could use an upgrade. Andrew Painter could also work in relief during the postseason. He will make his final regular season start in Thursday night’s series finale against Milwaukee. Cristopher Sanchez will make his start Friday night, which will put him on target to start Game 2 of the postseason next week behind Zack Wheeler.

Nola, who had a 6.04 ERA after his first 17 starts, finished the regular season 7-10 with a 4.54 ERA in 32 starts. Over his last 11 starts, he had a 2.45 ERA while averaging six innings.

“He’s been huge in the second half,” Mattingly said. “You feel like he’s going to give you a good game every time out.”

Nola was encouraged by his second half.

“I felt like I found a groove,” he said. “Everything was sharper, my delivery, my body, my pitches. I was mixing better. I stayed healthy all year. I did my best to keep guys in games as long as I could. I knew I was capable of being better than I was in the first half.”

With his regular-season work complete, Nola will now sit back and watch as the Phillies look to lock down a playoff spot.

Maybe it’ll happen Thursday night.

Mattingly offered this bit of advice:

“I always feel like games are hard to win down the stretch,” he said. “For me, it always rolls around to: Keep it simple, win a game tonight.”