NEW YORK -- Phillies reliever has a “mild” right groin strain, but he will not be placed on the 15-day injured list.

There is a reason for that: If Bowlan is placed on the injured list, he would be ineligible to pitch in the NL Wild Card Series. Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said on Friday afternoon at Citi Field that the team thinks Bowlan’s strain is manageable and that he could be back by Game 1 on Sept. 29.

“It’s something that we're going to try to work through,” Mattingly said. “Obviously, we’ll keep evaluating daily. But I thought the news was pretty good today. … If it was worse than that, there would be no reason to try to work through it.”

Bowlan injured himself pitching in the eighth inning of Thursday night’s 3-0 victory over the Mets. He was on the IL in April with the same injury, but Bowlan said on Friday this strain isn’t as severe.

“No pop, nothing like that,” Bowlan said. “So that’s a positive.”

But if this injury had happened before rosters expanded on Sept. 1, Bowlan likely would have been placed on the IL. First, there would be no reason to push it (i.e. there would be postseason roster considerations). Second, the Phillies would have only seven healthy relievers in the bullpen. They have nine at the moment.

The Phils should be able to navigate the season’s final nine games with nine relievers.

“He’s in an OK physical state,” Mattingly said. “Obviously, he's not ready to pitch tonight, but we don't think it's going to be long term.”

While Bowlan is sidelined, expect to see more of rookie right-hander Alex McFarlane. Orion Kerkering has pitched only once in two weeks in part because he has turf toe on his left foot. Perhaps he gets an opportunity to get back on track. He has a 7.79 ERA in 20 appearances since late July, striking out 16, walking 11 and hitting three batters with pitches in 17 1/3 innings.

“I think he's ready to go,” Mattingly said. “Even though he hasn't been used, it's just because the game wasn't his spot.”