Phillies beat Rays 7-3 on final day to claim last NL playoff spot

Philadelphia had one game left to settle a playoff place that seemed secure days earlier. The Phillies beat Tampa Bay 7-3 at Citizens Bank Park on Sunday, taking the National League's final Wild Card spot after losing four straight while Arizona surged. The result sent Philadelphia to a best-of-three series in Atlanta beginning Tuesday. MLB's final game page records the score and pitching line.

Zack Wheeler gave the Phillies the start they needed, allowing one run over six innings. Philadelphia led 4-0 after two. Bryson Stott doubled in the opening run, J.T. Realmuto ended an 0-for-34 slump with a run-scoring double in the second, and Kyle Schwarber added a two-run double. Bryce Harper homered in the fifth, the club's first home run since Tuesday and his first since Sept. 12. The Phillies stretched the lead to 7-1 before Tampa Bay scored twice in the seventh. Watch the Phillies' official clinch celebration and player interviews.

The pressure was real. Philadelphia held a four-game lead over Arizona for this spot with five games remaining, according to MLB's Phillies report. Four losses in a row left Sunday's 162nd game carrying the decision. Wheeler had been lined up for Tuesday's opener; the club used him Sunday to make sure there would be an opener. That choice also leaves the Wild Card rotation unsettled.

Jesús Luzardo, who had not faced hitters since Sept. 7 because of reported inflammation, returned for a four-pitch eighth inning. MLB's team report said Luzardo considered himself available to start or relieve in the series. It did not name a Game 1 starter after Wheeler's Sunday outing. Philadelphia will face NL East champion Atlanta, whose first two games are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday at 2 p.m. Eastern on NBC and Peacock.

The Phillies' 7-3 win secured the berth outright. Arizona's result was no longer needed once Philadelphia won. The MLB playoff bracket lists Philadelphia as the sixth NL seed and Atlanta as the third.