Phillies force Game 3 against Braves on Alec Bohm’s 10th inning home run – NBC Sports Philadelphia
ATLANTA – After three hours and three minutes of emotional, excruciating, desperate and ultimately triumphant baseball, Bryce Harper sat at his locker, removing his dirt- and sweat-stained uniform Wednesday afternoon.
He looked like a completely exhausted man.
“What a sport,” he muttered under a sigh.
Indeed.
What a sport. What a day. What a performance.
By so many people.
The Phillies ripped out their souls by saving their season with a dramatic 4-3 win over the Atlanta Braves in 10 innings in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series at Truist Park. They got an excellent and courageous 116 pitch start from Cristopher Sanchez. They benefited from tremendous relief work from rookies Alex McFarlane and Andrew Painter. They overcame defensive mistakes. They looked elimination in the eye, but lived another day thanks to three late homers and the 23-year-old painter becoming a man before everyone’s eyes.
The reward: a win-win Game 3 on Thursday.
“Same as today,” said Alec Bohm, whose two-out solo homer in the top of the 10th made the big difference. “Just win a game. I think today was definitely kind of emotional, with a lot of twists and turns in the game. So I think even though we want to enjoy this a little bit, we have to turn the page, move on and be ready to do the same thing tomorrow.”
If game 3 is as wild as game 2, make sure your seat belt is on.
Sanchez and Atlanta’s Tyler Mahle faced off in a tight pitching duel. It was a 1-1 game in the seventh. The Braves rallied for two runs in the bottom of the inning after Harper misplayed a very catchable ball to right field. It was one of two defensive errors the Phillies made during the inning. Earlier, Bohm had failed to escape.
After the Braves took the lead, Sanchez welcomed Harper into the dugout between innings.
“I told him he was bound to have a good time,” Sanchez said.
That’s exactly what Harper did.
From the on-deck circle, he watched Kyle Schwarber lead off the eighth and make it a one-run game with a mammoth 447-foot solo homer to right on a 3-2 slider from left-hander Dylan Lee. Harper then stepped to the plate and hit a 1-1 slider down and in 418 feet to right to tie the game.
Angry and a little embarrassed by his defensive mistake, the Showman bounced back like only the Showman can.
“Obviously there’s a world of emotion there,” Harper said. “Obviously, that’s a ball I should have caught. Sanchy was throwing some crap and if we take him out immediately, they probably won’t score. But you have to flush it as quickly as possible knowing that Lee is coming into the game. And, obviously, I was hearing it pretty good from the Braves and Phillies fans behind the dugout, so you have to show up in that situation.
“Kyle had a great at-bat, and then I wasn’t trying to hit a home run, I can tell you that.”
Two innings later, Bohm fired his go-ahead shot to right against right-hander Didier Fuentes.
Harper praised his teammates, especially Bohm and Painter. The right-hander entered a 3-3 game in the bottom of the eighth. In his first postseason appearance, he pitched three shutout innings and finished the game with two men on base and a three-pitch out of Dominic Smith on an ABS challenge from catcher JT Realmuto.
“The painter comes in, with an absolute dude mentality, and shuts the door on us,” Harper said. “And Bohmer hits the home run against Fuentes. Just a game to cheer me up. Obviously my teammates lift me up in that situation, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Bohm started the season slowly, in a major funk that coincided with the news that he was embroiled in a legal battle with his parents in which he claimed they had misused funds. The matter was settled several weeks ago. Bohm, who has always refused to comment on the subject, found himself on the bench for two games in early May. After that, he hit .274 with a .773 OPS and 73 RBIs in 120 games. He finished with 88 RBIs, nine fewer than Schwarber, the team leader, and one more than Harper.
None of those 88 RBIs were bigger than Bohm’s 10th round Wednesday.
Sitting next to Bohm in the postgame interview room, Harper said, “This guy has been through a lot this year, on and off the field. No person, no player or anyone should have to go through situations like that. This team, we are so close. We are closer throughout the year than our wives and kids. We travel, we are with each other more. I played with him for a long time, and for him to have that moment, in this situation – I’m super proud of him, super happy for him.
Bohm will be a free agent this winter. These could be his last days with the team.
After his biggest success as a Phillie, he stayed true to his low-key nature.
“I’m not really sure what happened or how it happened,” he said. “But yeah, it was obviously just a huge moment for us to step up and stay alive, keep our season alive and give ourselves a chance to close out the game and get to tomorrow.”
The Phillies have veteran Aaron Nola on full rest, ready to pitch in Game 3, but manager Don Mattingly wasn’t ready to commit to a starter after the game. He and his team were ready to meet and discuss a plan going forward with the 27 outs needed to once again save the season. Nola will get some innings. Zack Wheeler could find work with a short rest. Closer Jhoan Duran, who threw 27 pitches in the Game 1 loss, may or may not be ready. Stay tuned.
It will be all hands on deck and the winner will earn a trip to Los Angeles for the Division Series.
Gn sports
