Phillies Clinch Berth, Face Braves in Wild-Card Series

The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-3 on the final day of the regular season to clinch the National League’s final wild-card berth and a franchise-record fifth consecutive postseason appearance, ending a four-game losing streak. The win held off the Arizona Diamondbacks, whose late-season surge had cut Philadelphia’s lead from 6½ games to one, despite Arizona holding the tiebreaker. Zack Wheeler allowed one run over six innings, and Bryce Harper and Edmundo Sosa homered; Jesús Luzardo, newly activated from the injured list, pitched a scoreless relief inning. Philadelphia will face division rival Atlanta in a best-of-three wild-card series beginning Tuesday in Atlanta; Wheeler will be unavailable for the series after starting the finale. The Phillies went 4-9 against the Braves during the regular season.