It finally happened. The Phillies won a baseball game. Something they hadn’t done in ten straight games over an agonizing two week span. Their longest winless streak in 27 years was finally over.
A gritty and gutsy comeback win in extra innings against the team with the most wins in baseball, and a starting pitcher in Bryce Elder that has been excellent on the season with a 1.50 ERA.
Many will say it isn’t a big deal, that it’s just one game. Anyone can win one game. But after a ten game slide, it’s more than just winning a game. It’s getting the monkey of your back. It’s breaking the spell that a long losing streak can have on a team. It’s squashing the nerves that stop guys from turning routine double plays because they’re under constant suffocating pressure, whether they are consciously aware of it or not. It’s lifting the weight off of shoulders at the plate where everyone is pressing because they just can’t let the team lose another one.
This was more than just winning a baseball game. This was giving the team their dignity back.
And perhaps even more importantly, the Phillies got their ace back. Zack Wheeler’s triumphant return could not have come soon enough, and he was the shot in the arm the team needed to finally find their winning ways again.
With questions surrounding how Wheeler would fare in his first MLB start since recovering from thoracic outlet decompression surgery, there was no guarantee this outing would be the elite performance from their ace to which Phillies players and fans have grown accustomed. His rehab starts left room for concerns, specifically surrounding his velocity, which had dropped across the board, and most notably on his fastball. Wheeler would put those doubts to rest on Saturday night and give his team the only thing they needed to stop the skid other than the motivation of seeing their friend and ace back on the mound—he gave them a chance on the scoreboard.
While Wheeler would ultimately earn a no decision after five innings pitched, he limited a red hot Braves team to only two runs and kept the Phillies in the contest.
Throughout the losing streak, the Phillies had not necessarily had an issue getting the early lead, as they were ahead early in six out of the ten losses before ultimately going down. But finding a way to score in multiple innings and hold onto leads has been nearly impossible during the drought, with the team often fighting back from deficits to pull the score even, only to fall short night after night. On Saturday night that would finally change.
Adolis Garcia’s two-out RBI triple would get the scoring going in the top of the first. His hard hit line drive to left field got by a diving Mike Yastrzemski scoring Bryce Harper from first, who had walked in the previous at-bat.
Zack Wheeler would take the mound in the bottom of the first with a 1-0 lead and immediately put the velocity concerns to rest, striking out Ronald Acuna, Jr with a 96.5 mph fastball and getting out of his first inning back with no damage done.
But the Braves have been on an offensive tear, and Michael Harris, II has been leading the charge. He would once again find his way on base with a line drive up the middle in the bottom of the second bringing up Austin Riley with no outs. Riley would hit into a double play, and tonight the Phillies were able to make a routine double play look just as it should—routine. During the rough stretch, simple plays were not coming easily to this squad, and this felt like another sign of the turning tide.
Wheeler’s second inning was over in just six pitches, their 1-0 lead preserved. He was back.
The Phillies would add to their lead in the fourth, as Brandon Marsh got things going with a two-out single, followed quickly by a towering fly ball off Bryson Stott’s bat that took its time carrying into the right field corner before finally hitting off the wall in fair territory over a jumping Ronald Acuna Jr., bouncing well out of his reach back down the first base line. Marsh would head home all the way from first base as Stott pulled into third with a standing triple and a 2-0 lead for his team.
The Braves would respond quickly in the bottom of the fourth, capitalizing on back-to-back walks by Zack Wheeler. Albies would shoot a rocket up the middle, played beautifully by a diving Trea Turner, but with the runner bearing down on Stott at second and a fraction of a second for Trea to flip him the ball, the exchange was offline and everyone was safe.
Bases loaded, no outs, and that all too familiar sinking feeling for a team in the heart of a brutal skid. Cue the red hot Michael Harris, II smacking a deep fly ball to get the Braves on the board with a sac fly. Phillies fans would continue to hold their breath as Austin Riley, who always seemed to find time in his busy schedule for a timely homer against the Phillies, strode to the plate. And while he did not send one out of Truist Park this time, he did hit a rope to left field for his 500th career RBI drawing the Braves even at 2-2.
With the pressure on, Zack Wheeler showed everyone he is still the guy, striking out the next two batters to end the inning and limit the damage.
The Phillies would respond quickly to pick up their pitcher with back-to-back hits by Rafael Marchan and Trea Turner with one out to start the fifth. Kyle Schwarber would fly out, but Rafael Marchan was able to tag up and head to third with Bryce Harper headed to the plate. Bryce would continue to show up for this team, sending a hard hit ball to short that Mauricio Dubón was just able to keep from going through the gap, but unable to make a play from his knees allowing Marchan to come home.
Harper and the Phillies would take a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the fifth, and their ace would thank them for having his back by delivering a one, two, three inning to end his night.
Of course, with the ten game losing streak still in full effect, there was no relaxing for fan or player and as the bullpen took over just midway through the game, a team that has had a hard time finding consistency and linking solid pitching throughout nine innings with solid offense, would need to find a way to finally make the connection.
It would not start in the bottom of the sixth. Tanner Banks would have another tough night allowing two earned runs on three hits as the Braves would re-take the lead 4-3.
And while this was less than ideal, and of course the intrusive negative thoughts instinctively began to seep in, there was finally a real sense that the team could come all the way back this time. The entire team looked more relaxed in every facet of the game—making plays on defense, smarter at-bats. Whether it was the return of Zack Wheeler or the team had finally settled into the collective “we can’t get any worse” calm that is necessary to pull out of a free fall, things finally fell into place.
As the rain poured down and the Phillies looked to find a way to come back from a one run deficit in the bottom of the eighth, they got exactly what every baseball team needs once in a while—a little bit of luck. Kyle Schwarber hit a fly ball out to center that was misjudged by center fielder Eli White, who slipped on the wet outfield grass when he tried to adjust for his mistake. White went down and Kyle was able to take third easily with no outs, bringing up the currently confident and clutch hitting Bryce Harper.
Harper did not disappoint, once again getting the job doing with a game-tying sac fly. With neither team able to break the deadlock in regulation, the Phillies would have to find a way to win in extra innings as the rain continued to fall.
Bryce Harper’s continued quest to “hit sh— hard” propels the Phillies to extra innings victory.
With the ghost runner on second in the top of the tenth, Trea Turner worked a walk and the Braves would turn to lefty reliever José Suarez to match up against the Phillies’ top lefties in Schwarber and Harper. Schwarber would take a walk to load the bases allowing Harper to come up and continue to take care of business, sending a line drive through the gap in center, scoring two and giving the Phillies the 6-4 lead.
The Braves’ lefty-on-lefty game plan did not pay off this time, and it continued to unravel as lefty Brandon Marsh came up to knock one into right field extending the Phillies lead to 8-4 with his RBI single. But wait, there’s more—the lefty-on-lefty crime continued as Bryson Stott sent one over the head of a jumping Ozzie Albies to give the Phillies first and second, but they were not able to capitalize further on the scoreboard and would have to hope that a four-run cushion heading into the bottom of the tenth would be enough.
With superstar closer Jhoan Duran still on the IL with an oblique strain, a four-run cushion suddenly didn’t feel like much. The Phillies would roll with sidewinder Kyle Backhus, and he would quickly surrender a run bringing the Braves closer. With runners at first and second and only one out, an Ozzie Albies’ grounder allowed the Phillies to get the lead runner and out number two.
With an 8-5 lead, runners on the corners, and two outs, the Phillies would have to face the Braves’ hottest hitter once again—Michael Harris, II—already 2-3 on the night.
Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good, and the Phillies had a little more luck on their side as Harris’ bat broke sending the bouncing ball to a waiting Bryce Harper who flipped to Backhus covering first, ending the losing streak and allowing an entire city to exhale.
After the game when asked about how well he’s been hitting and if he’s been making a concerted effort to hit the ball the other way, Harper was noticeably more relaxed and able to laugh and have fun:
“I’m just trying to hit sh— hard, man. SORRY!, I’m sorry—hit STUFF hard! My bad. I’m just trying to hit it hard, that’s it. I mean, get pitches over the plate. Sometimes I get a little anxious just because we’re down in games or something. I want to have a big moment and, you know, put the team on my back a little bit, but obviously just trying to hit the ball hard and you know just have a good game.”
What was perhaps perfectly fitting in that postgame interview moment was the song playing in the background—“I’m Still Standing” by Elton John.
The Phillies are still standing. Despite an awful start to the season and a brutal fight to snap their ten-game losing streak, they’re still here, they’re still standing, and their superstar is starting to look more and more like the leader many of us have always hoped he would evolve into.
Aaron Nola will take the mound for the Phillies in the rubber match on Sunday afternoon, as they look to make it two wins in a row and snap a five-series losing streak before heading back to Citizens Bank Park to take on a San Francisco Giants team that shut them out twice at Oracle Park earlier this year.
