Luis Arraez (ankle) absent from Phillies’ lineup

Watching their playoff hopes potentially slip away from them, the Phillies decided to bring in Duran while down 2-0 in the eighth inning. He pitched a clean and easy scoreless frame, but it was a clear indication that their backs are up against the wall.

The Phillies have spent weeks searching for a big hit and Stott failed to deliver it in this game. After reaching in each of his first two plate appearances, Stott came up with runners on first and second with one out in the sixth as the Phillies trailed 2-0. He wound up hitting a liner right to second base and that score held through the final. The Phillies’ magic number remains at two as things get even tighter between them and the Padres.

Sánchez did his part as the Phillies continued to watch their Wild Card spot potentially slip away from them with seven innings of two-run ball. He got off to a bit of a rocky start though as the Rays put up a run in each of the first two innings and smacked six hard-hit balls along the way. Yet, Sánchez did what aces do and tightened up from that point forward. His season ended with a 2.91 ERA, 231 strikeouts, and 45 walks over 207 innings pitched.. He’s certain to get Cy Young votes after another phenomenal year and Phillies fans are hoping they’ll get to see him on the mound again next week.

Taylor will get another chance to show what he can do in the Mariners’ bullpen with Andrés Muñoz (knee) being placed on the injured list on Friday. Taylor, 25, has yet to make an appearance with the Mariners this season after posting a 5.05 ERA, 1.75 WHIP and a 65/37 K/BB ratio across 57 innings at the Triple-A level.

Abreu’s double off Ryan Rolison would have been a homer over the Green Monster under normal circumstances, but the win knocked it down some. It was actually the only extra-base hit from either team in the contest. Because of the storms in the Northeast, the Cubs and Red Sox will now head to St. Pete to finish the regular season at Tropicana Field on Sunday.

Bello was pulled after 58 pitches, which would potentially keep him in the relief mix for the Wild Card opener on Tuesday. He gave up one run and posted a 22/3 K/BB over 18 2/3 innings in his final four appearances to finish what originally looked like a disastrous season with a 4.33 ERA in 116 1/3 innings.

The 22-year-old Paez had given up 14 runs in 6 2/3 innings as a major leaguer before blanking the Cubs today. In spite of his success, he still might be exchanged for a fresh arm prior to Sunday’s finale.

Peterson ends the regular season having allowed three runs over 21 1/3 innings in his final four starts. He’s 6-2 with a 3.70 ERA overall in 15 starts and one relief appearance since being picked up from the Mets. It’s going to be really interesting to see how the Cubs deal with the rotation in the postseason, given that Peterson, Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga are all currently performing better than Clay Holmes and Kevin Gausman, both of whom seemed like locks to be among the team’s top three starters a few weeks ago.

Crow-Armstrong has his 40/40 season and NL MVP honors all locked up, but still to be seen if whether he’ll finish a rare 10 bWAR season. He entered today with 9.9, and that probably didn’t go up with a .125/.222/.125 doubleheader. Aaron Judge has the only 10 bWAR seasons of the decade, coming in at 10.8 in 2022 and 10.9 in 2024. Mike Trout also has two such seasons and Mookie Betts has one, but no National Leaguer has finished at 10 since Barry Bonds in 2004.

That will end an extremely inconsistent season for the 27-year-old closer. Muñoz finishes the campaign with a 4.24 ERA, 1.22 WHIP and an 89/24 K/BB ratio over 57 1/3 innings of work while securing 28 saves. He should be fully recovered and ready to go for the start of the 2027 campaign. Look for Jose Ferrer or Seranthony Dominguez to get the ball in the ninth inning should a save situation arise over the season’s final weekend.