MILWAUKEE – The Giants used eight relievers on Saturday and nine relievers on Sunday in a big weekend series against the Dodgers at Oracle Park. San Francisco had no choice. It has only three healthy starters. The Dodgers used 11 relievers on Friday. Again, because they have injuries to the rotation.

Then there is Tampa Bay, which has successfully deployed openers throughout the season. The Rays have mastered the art of shuffling pitchers from Triple-A to the big leagues.

The Phillies think they can make it work, too. Every fifth game will be a bullpen game the rest of the season. Their next one is Friday against the Rockies at Citizens Bank Park. The final one is the second-to-last game of the season on Oct. 2 in Miami.

“Three of the best teams in baseball,” Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said on Tuesday at American Family Field, referring to the Giants, Dodgers and Rays. “They do it all the time. … They do it and have a plan and have a thought process behind it. We just came to the conclusion that without getting Zach [Eflin] back and Matt [Moore] struggling again as a starter … we thought this gave us the best chance to win.

"We’ll mix and match and we’ve spent a lot of time on it. Joe [Girardi] is receptive to it. Caleb [Cotham] is all for it. Sam Fuld has led a lot of it. You have to be on top of it every day. For example, if you think you’re going to use somebody on a certain day, then he can’t have pitched three innings the day before that at the Triple-A level. We’re on top of those things on a daily basis and we just feel that it gives us the best chance to win right now.”

But the Phillies really feel they can manage this because their bullpen is healthy and mostly throwing well.

“Yeah, it’s sustainable,” Dombrowski said. “But I think it will be dependent on who we’re facing. It’s amazing how different that is depending on how their lineups look. Left-handed, right-handed, how our guys are throwing, what’s their best pitch, how do they match up. We’re doing all those things. Very much so. It could be somebody where we say, ‘Hey, let’s use the opener for three.’ Or ‘Let’s bring in a guy after an inning for three.’ … We still have the Triple-A club playing so you can option guys out and then still be in a position where they’re still out there pitching and you can bring somebody else up if you need to do that. They think it gives us the best chance to win.”

But Philly being Philly (and the Phillies having not made the postseason since 2011), there is no doubt there will be hand wringing on Oct. 2 if the season is on the line and the Phillies have to count on this approach.

“Let’s hope it is [an important game],” Dombrowski said.

Or maybe the Phillies clinch a postseason berth by then and it won’t even matter.

“That would be even better,” he said. “We wouldn’t have to worry about it. That would be an even better situation.”