Thursday, October 1, 2026
79 ° Clear
79 ° Clear
Don Mattingly met with a swarm of reporters eagerly awaiting an update on Luis Arraez’s sprained ankle from last night’s loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. Philadelphia interim manager spoke for a few minutes regarding the absence of the Phillies primary acquisition at the trade deadline, the changes to the lineup for Friday night’s contest, and how the Phillies expect to approach the situation if they can punch a postseason ticket this weekend with a pair of wins against the Tampa Bay Rays, who have already wrapped up the top seed in the American League independent of this weekend’s results at Citizens Bank Park.
Naturally, the first question from the media directed at Mattingly concerned the unfortunate injury to their best hitter. Last night, Arraez got his left foot trapped in the dirt while attempting to avoid a tag at first base that ultimately resulted in the 29-year-old exiting the game.
This afternoon’s update from Mattingly was “kind of a not great one”. While there was no structural damage on an MRI scan this morning, Arraez woke up “super sore,” according to his interim skipper. Mattingly would “be surprised” if Arraez sees the field this weekend as the Phillies try to secure a fifth-straight postseason appearance with a pair of wins.
Mattingly told reporters that it was a “fairly simple” decision to move Alec Bohm into Arraez’s cleanup spot in the order. The 30-year-old infielder is batting .253 this season, but he’s second on the squad with 88 RBI’s. Therefore, Bohm has been one of the better run producers for the Phillies this season, and moving him up the lineup is one of the better choices Mattingly has at his disposal in the league’s final weekend.
The Phillies manager says the feeling in the clubhouse is “okay” despite the club battling for a postseason spot until the very bitter end of the 2026 campaign. “I think these guys have been through it,” Mattingly stated. “I feel okay.”
When asked if he needed to emphasize the urgency of the situation, Mattingly declined, saying it was unnecessary. “If you have to tell guys at this point that it’s urgent that we win games, we’re in trouble. The urgency everybody knows. It’s pretty much right in your face. We’ve got to go out and play good baseball. You can talk about all kinds of scenarios and things like that, but it still goes back to playing your best baseball.”
Philadelphia sends out its best starting pitcher to lock down one of the two games they need to claim a postseason spot independent of what the Arizona Diamondbacks do tonight. Sanchez enters with an 18-6 record and a 2.93 earned run average this season. Philadelphia will need another dazzling start from their ace in his final start of the regular season.
Tampa Bay sends 2026 MLB Trade Deadline acquisition Freddy Peralta to the mound for the series opener. Peralta allowed 10 earned runs to the Phillies (while starting for the Mets) over 2 ⅔ innings on June 20. The 30-year-old has been better since putting on his Rays jersey, with a 4-2 record and a 3.60 ERA over nine appearances in Tampa Bay since his trade from the Mets on August 2. Peralta has not fared well in his career against the Phillies, with an 0-3 record and a 5.30 ERA in nine contests against Philly.
MORE: Phillies enter this weekend with the magic number at '2'.
