Paint it black: Phillies 4, Braves 3

· Yahoo Sports

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - SEPTEMBER 30: Andrew Painter #24 of the Philadelphia Phillies celebrate a win over the Atlanta Brave in game two of the National League Wild Card Series at Truist Park on September 30, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Phillies’ season looked all but over. Thanks to a horrendous fielding error by Bryce Harper, the Phillies found themselves trailing the Braves by two runs in the eighth. But thanks to back-to-back home runs by Kyle Schwarber and Harper, a go-ahead home run by Alec Bohm in the tenth, and some gutsy pitching by rookie Andrew Painter, the Phillies beat the Braves 4-3 to tie the Wild Card series at one win apiece.

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The game started out promisingly for the Phillies’ offense. Trea Turner led off with an opposite field double, advanced to second on a ground out, and scored on Harper’s RBI single.

A single by Bohm put runners at the corners, but Bryson Stott hit a ball back to the pitcher and Harper was thrown out at home to end the threat.

The Braves answered back in the bottom of the inning. Cristopher Sanchez started the game by walking Ronald Acuna, Jr, and it ended up costing him thanks to Matt Olson’s RBI single two batters later.

The game then settled into a pitchers’ duel between Sanchez and Tyler Mahle. The Phillies continued to flail at Mahle’s split fastball and could only manage three hits over the next six innings. Sanchez ran into trouble in both the fifth and sixth but was able to pitch out of the jam both times.

Despite a rising pitch count, Sanchez began the seventh and started the inning with a walk. The next batter attempted a bunt, and Bohm made a poor decision to try to get the runner at second, putting two on with nobody out. Sanchez bore down to strike out Acuna and then got Drake Baldwin to hit what looked like a routine fly ball to right. However, …

After an intentional walk, a sacrifice fly by Olson put the Braves up 3-1.

The Braves lifted Mahle in favor of lefthander Dylan Lee, presumably to get Schwarber and Harper out. That move didn’t work out so well.

With the back-to-back jacks tying the game at three, manager Don Mattingly chose to bring in rookie Andrew Painter. It was a tough spot for a rookie, and it looked like it might have been a mistake when his first six pitches missed the strike zone. But a mound visit seemed to settle Painter. He coerced a double play and a foul out to end the inning.

After trading zeroes in the ninth, the Phillies had two outs in the tenth when Alec Bohm lifted what looked like a routine fly ball to right field. But somehow, it kept carrying and gave the Phillies a 4-3 lead.

It isn’t clear if Jhoan Duran was unavailable or if it was just Painter’s game, but the rookie came back out for his third inning. Painter started out the inning with a strike three that nicked the strike zone by about a nanometer. After a single and another strike out, Michael Harris kept the game alive by flicking his bat at a ball that somehow found grass.

With two out and two on, Painter got two quick strikes on Austin Riley and then delivered a pitch that was so perfect that ABS had to call it a strike.

With the win, the Phillies have set up a pivotal game three on Thursday. It would be nice if they could get out to an early lead and coast to victory. It would also be nice if I could win the lottery.

See you tomorrow!

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