September 24, 2026
Bill Streicher/Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Luis Arraez (4) grabs his leg with an apparent injury while running to first base during the sixth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at Citizens Bank Park.
The Phillies had the chance to earn their spot in the playoffs with momentum.
Instead, they continued to lose control of their own destiny. Their 5-1 loss to the Brewers on Thursday, despite an encouraging effort from Andrew Painter, meant they dropped two of three in the series and left Citizens Bank Park having blown their chance to stamp their own ticket into the playoffs via the NL Wild Card.
The Phillies will still probably get in, and could get there later tonight if the Padres lose to the Dodgers on the West Coast, but the Phillies can't feel great about how their series went against the NL's best team and what it could mean for their chances of making a deep postseason run – if and when they finally get in.
After a 6-4 win Tuesday, the Phillies fell back into their typical offensive malaise, stranding 11 runners in a 4-1 loss, then wasted six of the strongest innings the rookie Painter has pitched this year to lose the series. José Alvarado continued his season-long tradition of finding anything but the strike zone, allowing three Brewers to reach in a three-run eighth that sent Milwaukee on its way to a 100th win.
Making matters worse, Phillies cleanup hitter Luis Arráez left the game in the sixth with a left ankle sprain he incurred while trying to avoid a tag at first base that sent him to the dirt, writhing in pain and then eventually limping back to the dugout, appearing unable to put weight on his left leg.
Luis Arráez went down in pain after running to 1st base on this play. He has left the game. pic.twitter.com/nbKPlGanAg
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) September 24, 2026
A long-term injury to Arráez, the NL batting leader (.310), would take one of the few contact hitters out of the Phillies' lineup and would probably trigger another defense realignment, as Bryson Stott would likely move back to second, Alec Bohm to third, Bryce Harper to first and then probably a platoon in right field – which is how the Phillies operated before the Arráez trade.
Even with Arráez, the Phillies were struggling to piece together hits and drive the ball. On Wednesday, they mustered just one hit beyond the third inning. The road for the Phillies doesn't get easier, as they end the regular season with a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays, who have already clinched the best record in the AL.
Maybe the Rays will be relaxing some key players and pitchers as they get ready for their own postseason run.
Here are the winners and losers from the Phillies' series against the Brew Crew:
Zack Wheeler: If it was his final start of the regular season, he made it special. Wheeler needed three strikeouts to get to 2,000 for his career and left no question as he struck out the first seven Brewers he faced, becoming the first in Phillies history to do that. He didn't get the win but fanned 11 and was victimized by some cheap singles. After a un-Wheeler-like August (6.28 ERA), the ace righty returned to form in September, with a 1.75 ERA and 34 punchouts in 27.1 innings. He looks primed for the postseason and probably won't start the season finale unless the Phillies have a Wild Card seed or home-field advantage in the Wild Card round in the balance.
Number 2,000 ‼️
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 22, 2026
Zack Wheeler is the 96th player in MLB history to reach 2,000 strikeouts. pic.twitter.com/5Bp2rFjTEh
Brandon Marsh: He was batting .332 on the first day of June. He entered this Brewers series batting .262. That's all you need to know about the near-four months in between for Marsh, who has slashed .230/.280/.380 since the beginning of June. But he homered Wednesday night for the first time in 33 games – since their trip to Iowa – to stake the Phillies to an early 2-0 lead and later doubled a run home in a 2-for-4, three-RBI effort.
BIG DAWG 🐶 pic.twitter.com/ATjlrjIH1y
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 22, 2026
Alec Bohm, Bryson Stott: In a series with few big hits, both Bohm and Stott came through more than anyone else. The two infielders combined to go 3-for-7 in Tuesday's win with two RBI and three runs scored, and then went 3-for-7 combined in Wednesday's loss. If Arráez is going to be out for a bit, it would help of those two could stay hot.
Jesus Luzardo's shoulder: Some good health news came earlier Thursday, as The Athletic's Matt Gelb reported that Luzardo tossed about 30 pitches in a bullpen session and indicated that he felt good. The door is still open for Luzardo, who's been their best starter since the All-Star break, to return for the postseason. The Phillies can't make a deep run without him.
The top three: Bryce Harper, Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber have scored 40 percent of the team's overall runs and driven in 34 percent of the team's runs were non-existent in the first two games of the series, combining to go 2-for-23 and score just one run. Scwarber and Harper each had two hits Thursday, but that only brought the series total for the trio to 6-for-35. Not the best time for those three to go cold. The Phillies were 0-for-12 with runners in scoring position over the first two games.
J.T. Realmuto: He's mired in one of the worst slumps of his career. He went 0-for-10 in the series and hasn't had a hit since Sept. 15. He has gone hitless in his last 32 plate appearances. At this point, he's become an automatic out in a lineup that has too many guys not getting enough hits.
Bryce Harper (again): More on Harper. He has been stuck on 28 homers for what seems like forever and came up small in so many big spots. On Wednesday, he came up as the tying run with less than two outs twice, in the fifth and seventh innings, but didn't deliver; he fouled out in the fifth and then chopped the first pitch he saw in the seventh about 10 feet high back to the pitcher for a groundout.
More bullpen woes: After Painter pitched a gem and Alex McFarlane escaped his own jam in the sixth, in came Alvarado, who predictably struggled to find the strike zone. He immediately walked leadoff pinch hitter Jackson Chourio, then allowed a long single off the wall to Gary Sanchez to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Chase Shugart replaced him and allowed a one-out single to Cooper Pratt and then a two-out single to Joey Ortiz as the Brewers went up 4-1. Alvarado's ERA jumped back to 5.43, not exactly a beacon of hope for his high leverage innings if the Phils get into the postseason.
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