Velasquez and the Phillies

The Phillies fell to the Rays on Friday night, 6-4, and the loss has put the club's hopes of reaching the postseason on life-support. The loss, coupled with a win by the Marlins, means the Phils only means of playing baseball in October is through a wild-card berth. 

The Phillies' playoff chances, according to FanGraphs, are down to about 24%. The club will have to win the final two games in Tampa and hope for some help elsewhere across the National League. 

Friday's defeat was the eighth time this season the Phils lost a contest despite holding a three-run lead. The bullpen has a 7.17 ERA, the worst figure in baseball dating back 90 years. 

Adam Morgan took the loss on Friday, surrendering two runs on one hits and a pair of walks. He recorded just one out. 

“I don’t know if I have an answer for that,” Morgan said discussing the bullpen’s struggles. “I know that everybody down there is working hard. And nobody’s thrown in the towel down there. We’re coming in every day, trying to get better. We hate it. You know, we hate that we have to kind of wear the burden right now. But you know what? Sometimes it happens, but we’re putting one foot in front of the other and trying to do the best we can.” 

The Phillies turn to Zack Wheeler on Saturday in a must-win contest. 

"We have to do our job," manager Joe Girardi said. "That's what this comes down to." 
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Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PGordonPBR

BY PATRICK GORDON
Managing Editor
pgordon@philadelphiabaseballreview.com

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