Alec Bohm hit a 10th-inning home run and rookie Andrew Painter secured a wild 4-3 victory for the Philadelphia Phillies over the Atlanta Braves in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series on Wednesday, forcing a decisive third game.
The Phillies extended their season in dramatic fashion at Truist Park, turning a chaotic afternoon of defensive miscues and late heroics into a narrow extra-inning win. Playing under traditional extra-inning rules that omit regular-season designated runners at second base, Philadelphia relied on the long ball and a gutsy bullpen performance to level the series.
Bryce Harper and Alec Bohm Overcome Seventh-Inning Misplays
For a stretch in the seventh inning, it appeared the Phillies were heading toward elimination. Leading 1-1, Philadelphia starter Cristopher Sánchez ran into trouble when he walked Sean Murphy to open the frame. Alec Bohm then failed to secure an out on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Ha-Seong Kim, leaving two runners on base with nobody out. After Sánchez struck out Ronald Acuña Jr., the defensive unraveling deepened in the outfield.
Bryce Harper, shifted back to right field at the trade deadline to accommodate an infield rearrangement that brought in Luis Arraez, misjudged a fly ball hit by Drake Baldwin. The ball sailed over his head for a double, pushing the Braves ahead. I thought it was going to be a pop fly just right at me and then it kind of kept traveling,
Harper said after the game. Obviously, a ball I should have caught.
Matt Olson followed with a sacrifice fly to extend Atlanta’s lead to 3-1.
Instead of folding, the veterans immediately answered. In the top of the eighth inning, Kyle Schwarber launched a home run off Atlanta setup man Dylan Lee. Harper followed immediately with a 447-foot blast of his own, marking back-to-back home runs that tied the game 3-3. Those represented the first two home runs surrendered to left-handed batters this season by Lee, according to league tracking.
Andrew Painter and J.T. Realmuto Seal the Win in the Tenth
The 23-year-old right-hander opened his outing with six consecutive missed pitches, admitting he felt nervous in his postseason debut. A mound visit from catcher J.T. Realmuto and pitching coach Caleb Cotham settled him down.
When we can keep those challenges for late in the game, we have all the confidence in the world with J.T. using them, and we always want to reserve one for J.T. behind the plate,
Painter said of his veteran catcher.
Painter threw three scoreless innings to keep the Braves at bay, setting the stage for the top of the 10th. Bohm atoned for his earlier defensive error by connecting on a 357-foot home run to right field off Braves right-hander Didier Fuentes to break the 3-3 tie.
In the bottom half of the frame, Painter encountered a final jam with two runners on and two out against pinch-hitter Dominic Smith. Home plate umpire Adam Beck initially called it a ball, prompting Realmuto to trigger the Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System.
“[Painter] looked more sure it was a strike than I was, to be honest. He was that excited to get that out, to make that pitch in that situation.”
J.T. Realmuto, via TSN
The review successfully overturned the call to a strikeout, securing the final out and marking the first game-ending ABS challenge in postseason history.
Decisive Game 3 Awaits in Atlanta
The hard-fought victory neutralizes Atlanta’s initial series advantage and shifts momentum back to the visiting dugout for the final elimination match. Braves starter Tyler Mahle turned in a stellar seven-inning outing with six strikeouts, only to see the bullpen surrender the lead in the eighth. The two division rivals return to the field for Game 3.
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