ATLANTA, GA—October baseball is supposed to make absolutely no sense. It is supposed to turn routine innings into heart attacks, trade-block candidates into heroes and one swing into the difference between going home and getting another day. The Phillies got all of it Wednesday afternoon at Truist Park.
Kyle Schwarber went deep. Bryce Harper followed him. Alec Bohm delivered the biggest swing of all. And Andrew Painter somehow found his way through one final dose of chaos as Philadelphia survived the Atlanta Braves, 4-3, in 10 innings to force a decisive Game 3 of the National League Wild Card Series.
This one had everything baseball fans want from October: lead changes, escaped jams, back-to-back home runs, extra innings and a season hanging on seemingly every pitch. When the Phillies needed somebody to save theirs, Bohm did exactly that.
The Phillies Strike First, But Atlanta Answers
Philadelphia wasted little time getting on the board after being shut out in Game 1.
A struggling Trea Turner opened the game with a double and Bryce Harper drove him home with an RBI single, giving the Phillies their first lead of the series before Atlanta had even recorded two outs. Bohm followed with a single, although Philadelphia couldn’t push across another run.
The Braves answered almost immediately. Ronald Acuña Jr. walked, stole second and third, then scored on Matt Olson’s two-out single to tie the game at 1-1.
From there, the game settled into the kind of tense stalemate that feels inevitable in October. Cristopher Sánchez navigated Atlanta’s lineup and escaped his biggest trouble in the sixth when the Braves loaded the bases with one out. Michael Harris II bounced a ball to Bohm, who fired home for one out before taking the return throw at first to complete an inning-ending double play and keep the game tied.
Atlanta finally broke through an inning later when Drake Baldwin doubled home Sean Murphy to give the Braves a 2-1 lead. Olson followed with a sacrifice fly, stretching the advantage to 3-1 and suddenly putting the Phillies just six outs away from watching their season end in Atlanta.
Then the big bats woke up.
Schwarber. Harper. Back-to-Back.
If there is one thing October has taught baseball fans, it is that two runs can disappear very quickly when the heart of a postseason lineup comes to the plate.
Facing Dylan Lee to begin the eighth, Schwarber launched a solo home run to right-center field to cut Atlanta’s lead to 3-2.
Before Braves fans could fully process it, Harper stepped in and did the exact same thing.
Harper sent another ball into the right-center-field seats, and within a matter of minutes, a 3-1 deficit had completely vanished. The Phillies had tied the game at 3-3, and suddenly had life again.
Saved by the Bohm
The Phillies couldn’t finish it in the ninth, sending the game to extra innings with their season still sitting on the edge.
Schwarber struck out to begin the top of the 10th, and Harper followed with a groundout. With two outs and nobody on, Alec Bohm stepped to the plate.
Bohm had already been involved everywhere Wednesday. He singled in the first inning, helped turn the massive bases-loaded double play in the sixth and shifted from first base to third late in the game.
None of it compared to what came next.
Bohm launched an oppo two-out solo home run to right field, giving Philadelphia a 4-3 lead and turning himself into the main character of the Phillies’ season-saving afternoon.
Painter Slams the Door
Of course, because this was October baseball, the bottom of the 10th couldn’t possibly be easy.
Andrew Painter had already worked scoreless eighth and ninth innings after entering a 3-3 game. He returned for the 10th with a one-run lead and Philadelphia’s season three outs away from survival.
Painter struck out Matt Olson to start the inning before Mauricio Dubón singled. He responded by punching out Austin Riley, putting the Phillies one out away, but Michael Harris II followed with another single to put two runners aboard and bring the winning run to the plate.
Because apparently there had not been enough drama already.
Dominic Smith came off the bench as Atlanta’s final hope, and even that at-bat needed an ABS challenge before the final call was settled.
Strike three. Ballgame.
Painter finished the job with three scoreless innings, working around the two-out rally in the 10th and striking out Smith to preserve the 4-3 victory.
The Phillies came to Atlanta needing a win to keep their season alive, and they got one in about the most red-October way possible. Schwarber started the comeback, Harper completed it and Painter protected it.
But Alec Bohm saved it.
Now there will be a Game 3.
Winner Takes All in Game 3
The NL East rivals will return to Truist Park on Thursday, October 1, for a winner-take-all Game 3 with a trip to the NLDS on the line. The game will air on NBC and stream on Peacock, with the exact first-pitch time dependent on the other remaining Wild Card Series.
Philadelphia is expected to hand the ball to Aaron Nola, while Atlanta is expected to counter with Grant Holmes, either as its starter or in a bulk role.
October begins for one of them. For the other, it’s over before it begins.
