Painter's 7 scoreless innings wasted in 1-0 loss to Arizona
Andrew Painter fired 7 scoreless innings against Arizona, but the bullpen gave up a solo homer to James McCann and the Phillies fell 1-0, closing a series they still won 2 games to 1.
Painter's scoreless start spoiled in the finale
The Phillies dropped the finale of their series in Arizona 1-0 on September 2, even though Andrew Painter delivered another strong start — 7 shutout innings, 2 hits, 0 walks and 6 strikeouts, per the club's own account. James McCann went deep immediately once Philadelphia turned to the bullpen, per TalkinBaseball_, and that was the only run of the night.
Diamondbacks2-1Diamondbacks7-1Diamondbacks0-1The loss didn't undo the trip. The Phillies opened with a 2-1 win on August 31 and followed it with a 7-1 win on September 1 before Arizona salvaged the finale, so Philadelphia left the desert having taken 2 of 3. It's part of a stretch in which the club has gone 4-1 in its last 5 games.
15 wins in their last 17 games
At 79-61, Philadelphia sits atop the NL Wild Card, 5.5 games clear of the second-place Cubs (79-62) and carrying an elimination number of 19 — the number of losses and Cubs wins that would end their season. Arizona (74-67) and San Diego (73-67) sit further back, both facing elimination numbers of 13.
Per TalkinBaseball_, the Phillies have won 15 of their last 17 games, and per Jon Morosi of MLB Network, only the Brewers have a better record than the Dodgers, Phillies and Yankees since Pat Murphy took over in Milwaukee before the 2024 season. The next test comes immediately: per Foul Territory, Phillies broadcaster TMacPhils said the club has 7 games left against the Braves and that going 5-2 in them is "what they need to be."
Upcoming
Cristopher Sánchez (16-4, 2.52 ERA) starts as the Phillies host the Braves tonight, coming off 7 scoreless innings against the Angels on August 29 in a no-decision. He faces Chris Sale (13-9, 2.06 ERA), who threw 9 shutout innings with 11 strikeouts and no walks against the Dodgers on August 27 — a matchup of two of the better arms Philadelphia will see all series.
Philadelphia is favored at home, and the total points to a low-scoring night — no surprise with Sánchez and Sale both working off ERAs south of 2.60. The Phillies host the Braves again Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, and with 7 meetings left between the two clubs, tonight's opener is the first shot at the kind of series Philadelphia needs to keep its cushion in the wild card.