Philadelphia entered Wednesday’s game with their backs against the wall. They made mistakes in the field, but each man who made one came up big at the plate. After scoring in the first, the Phillies hit three solo shots, two in the eighth and one in the tenth, to give themselves the lead and keep their championship chase alive.
It was not as simple as it sounds.
The two starting pitchers matched each other pitch for pitch through the first six innings. Then came the seventh. Mental mistakes from the Phillies' first baseman and right fielder, both playing out of their normal position, changed that.
Braves catcher Sean Murphy led off with a walk, followed by a sac bunt by Ha-Seong Kim. On the attempt, Alec Bohm hesitated before charging, then still decided to try and get the lead runner. His throw was late, just like his eventual heroics.
Two men on and no one out. Cristopher Sánchez struck out Ronald Acuña, but then came the second mistake. A fly ball from Drake Baldwin seemed to drift on Bryce Harper. The ball went off his glove, found the grass, and Atlanta found themselves the lead. They would push one more across before Sánchez was lifted.
Philadelphia came up in the top of the eighth facing a new pitcher. Left-hander Dylan Lee toed the rubber to face the big left-handed bats in the middle of the Phillies lineup. He had not surrendered a homer to a lefty all season. That changed quickly as Kyle Schwarber battled and demolished a ball 447 feet into the right-field stands. Harper made up for his earlier mistake just three pitches later, going back-to-back with Schwarber to tie things back up.
Elite stuff from the Phillies' best hitters.
Bohm made some great defensive plays, including starting and finishing two key double plays late in the game, but that mistake in the seventh stood out as it resulted in the lead change. He carried that poise he showed earlier with him to the extra inning, making up for his one mistake in dramatic fashion.
With two outs in the tenth, Bohm drove a 99.4 MPH fastball that was up and in to opposite field to give his team a lead they would not relinquish. He told Ashley ShahAhmadi on the NBC broadcast, "I was trying to pull the ball off the foul pole, and I hit it to right field. I'll take it."
Bohm hit 15 home runs during the regular season; only one went out to right field. Talk about drama.
A big question mark for the Phillies coming into the postseason was what to do with their pitching. All five of their starters were strong to end the regular season, but you do not start five different men in the playoffs. What would Aaron Nola and Andrew Painter's roles be?
Interim manager Don Mattingly seemingly only truly trusted two men in his pen. They both threw yesterday.
Sánchez was fantastic until the aforementioned mental mistakes did him in. In stepped Painter.
Things did not look good to start. He threw six straight balls to start his appearance. Alec Bohm turned one of those previously mentioned double plays to bail him out. From there, the rookie settled in.
In an uncomfortable spot for the highly-touted rookie who had a tumultuous regular season, Painter rose to the occasion.
The right-hander had never been in this type of situation, but you would not think that if you watched. Painter forced Acuña to ground out and Ozzie Albies to fly out to end the ninth. After Bohm's blast, he got Olson to strike out to start the tenth.
Two men would reach via singles, and the Braves turned to a left-handed pinch hitter in Dominic Smith. Two outs, two men on, unfavorable matchup in extra innings in an unfamiliar role. None of that mattered to Painter, who struck out the side by finishing off Smith on three pitches (the last of which was a result of an ABS challenge from J.T. Realmuto). He shut the door and kept the Phillies alive for at least one more day.
Game 3 is tomorrow. Aaron Nola is expected to start. Zack Wheeler should be available. After two dramatic games between division rivals thus far, it will be must-see TV.
