Phillies avoid collapse, clinch 5th straight playoff berth

It took all 162 games to do it, but the Philadelphia Phillies have made the playoffs.

Philadelphia avoided what would have been a monumental collapse by beating the Tampa Bay Rays 7-3 on Sunday to clinch its fifth straight postseason berth and eliminate the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Philadelphia's five straight postseason appearances match its franchise record set from 2007-11.

As the NL's No. 6 seed, the Phillies will now head to Atlanta for a date with the rival Braves in a best-of-three wild-card series.

The Phillies held the No. 5 seed on Sept. 17 and had several chances to clinch over the last week. But they made life difficult for themselves by losing four straight and six of eight heading into Sunday's season finale as their bats went silent over that span.

Philadelphia's offense finally woke up Sunday, scoring four runs in the first two innings. Bryson Stott gave his team its first lead in five days with a first-inning RBI double, while Bryce Harper and Edmundo Sosa both homered in the fifth. Harper's blast was the Phillies' first homer in 46 innings.

Zack Wheeler stepped up on the mound, firing six innings of one-run ball while striking out five.

Arizona did its best to stay in the race, winning six straight games over the last week before dropping Saturday's penultimate game to the San Diego Padres. That loss gave the Phillies control of their own destiny, while the Diamondbacks needed to win and rely on the Rays in order to make the postseason.

The D-Backs last made the playoffs in 2023.