Philadelphia Phillies Come Close, Drop Season Finale to Astros

Close but no cigar, the Philadelphia Phillies lose their season finale at the hands of the Houston Astros.

Still slightly hungover from their celebrations two nights prior, the Philadelphia Phillies came close, but ultimately dropped their season finale vs. the Houston Astros by a score of 3-2. The Phillies fell in the series, 2-1.

Philadelphia didn't field their strongest lineup and it showed, as the team mustered just four hits to Houston's 12, and only managed six baserunners on the day. They struck out 15 times.

Still, the good guys came close thanks to a well-timed eighth inning double from Brandon Marsh that brought home Dalton Guthrie, who was hit by a pitch. That was followed by a battle of the Matons; Nick won with a single off of his brother Phil. A sacrifice fly off the bat of Rhys Hoskins brought Maton home and rounded out the scoring for the Phightins.

Nick wins the battle of the Matons! pic.twitter.com/bHKuo6m0f5

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) October 5, 2022

Bailey Falter, the game's starter, tossed only one inning, presumably to acclimate him to the bullpen role that awaits him in the playoffs. He was relieved by southpaw Michael Plassmeyer, who shoved for six strong innings, allowing three runs on nine hits while striking out six.

Plassmeyer has seen exceptional growth since joining the Phillies organization, tossing a 2.41 ERA across 82 frames with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, and translating that to total of 7.1 solid innings at the MLB level. He has presented himself as an interesting piece of starting pitching depth going forward.

That about rounds out the Philadelphia Phillies' regular season! They finished 87-75, and are headed to the playoffs where they'll stare down the ultimate challenge: a best-of-three Wild Card series against the St. Louis Cardinals, which begins on Friday.

Synchronize your watches, Game 1 of the Phillies' first playoff appearance in 11 years begins at 2:07 p.m. ET on Friday. Be there.

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