Harper, Sosa lift Phillies to playoffs

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Bryce Harper and Edmundo Sosa blasted home runs as the Philadelphia Phillies punched their ticket to the playoffs with a 7-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday as the curtain came down on Major League Baseball's (MLB) regular season.

The Phillies had gone into Sunday's home game against Tampa Bay on the back of a four-game losing streak, raising the prospect of the Arizona Diamondbacks pipping them to the final spot available in the National League wild card round.

But the Phillies made sure of their place in the playoffs with a clinical performance that sends them into a best-of-three series against the Atlanta Braves starting on Tuesday.

Phillies starting pitcher Zach Wheeler set up the victory, throwing six innings and giving up just one run with five hits and five strikeouts.

The Phillies offense also kept the scoreboard rolling, with Bryson Stott driving in a run for Kyle Schwarber with a double in the bottom of the first inning.

J.T Realmuto's double in the bottom of the second made it 2-0 before Schwarber drove in two more runs with a sharp line drive that sent Realmuto and Trea Turner over home plate for a 4-0 lead.