Phillies lose 4th straight, Diamondbacks stay alive in NL Wild Card race

The Philadelphia Phillies dropped a second straight game to the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday, this time 12-1, which means the Arizona Diamondbacks are still alive in the National League Wild Card race.

It’s the fourth straight loss for Philadelphia and the sixth in the last eight games, continuing to keep the door open for Arizona.

The Diamondbacks controlled their own destiny briefly on Saturday before their 10-7 loss at San Diego, which put the control back in the Phillies’ hands.

The Rays, who have clinched the No. 1 seed in the American League, jumped on the Phillies early with three runs in the first inning and blew the game open in the fifth and sixth innings with seven runs combined.

Tampa Bay led 10-1 through seven innings before adding a couple more runs in the ninth inning.

With the Diamondbacks’ loss, Arizona is now relying on another Phillies loss on Sunday and a win of its own to make the postseason.

The two teams would be tied in the standings with that outcome, and Arizona holds the tiebreaker over Philadelphia.

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