Atlanta Braves’ Ozzie Albies flies out in the third inning against the Philadelphia Phillies during Game 2 of baseball’s National League Wild Card Series, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
By CHARLES ODUM AP Sports Writer
ATLANTA (AP) — Bryce Harper’s misplay in right field put Philadelphia in a hole. His homer an inning later put the Phillies in position for a comeback win that extended their postseason.
Alec Bohm put Philadelphia ahead with a two-out homer in the 10th inning, and the Phillies beat the Atlanta Braves 4-3 on Wednesday to force a decisive third game in their NL Wild Card Series.
The Phillies rallied with back-to-back homers from Kyle Schwarber and Harper in the eighth after trailing 3-1 in the seventh. Harper’s homer made up for a crucial fielding mistake an inning earlier.
“I wasn’t not trying to hit a homer, I can tell you that,” Harper said with a smile.
Andrew Painter (1-0), a starter in the regular season, saved the Phillies’ beleaguered bullpen with three scoreless innings to close things out. Painter stranded two runners in the 10th when he struck out Dominic Smith with a successful ABS challenge.
Playing under traditional extra-inning rules that don’t include automatic runners at second base like in the regular season, Bohm delivered his third career postseason home run, a 357-foot shot to right field off right-hander Didier Fuentes (0-1).
For Bohm, who has faced criticism during a rocky season in which he hit .249 and is facing free agency, the homer may have extended his time with the Phillies.
“I’ve been trying not to think about that,” Bohm said. “I really don’t want the season to end.”
The Phillies will try to continue their postseason dominance over the Braves in Thursday’s Game 3. Philadelphia beat Atlanta in the 1993 NLCS and the 2022 and 2023 NLDS.
In the seventh, Drake Baldwin’s double glanced off Harper’s glove in right field, driving in Sean Murphy to give Atlanta a 2-1 lead. Harper, who resumed playing the outfield late this season for the first time since 2022, got a poor jump and was leaping for the ball near the warning track. He was not charged with an error. Matt Olson added a sacrifice fly.
“I didn’t think he hit it very hard,” Harper said. “I thought it was going to be a pop fly just right at me and then it kind of kept traveling. Obviously a ball I should have caught. … And obviously I was hearing it pretty good from Braves and Phillies fans in the dugout, so got to show up in that situation.
“But how quickly can I turn the page and just get past that moment, knowing that I’m still coming up to the plate to hit and knowing that in the postseason, it doesn’t matter what you did the at-bat before, the inning before. It’s what you do in that moment.”
The Phillies pulled even with eighth-inning home runs by Schwarber and Harper off Dylan Lee, the winning pitcher in the Braves’ 5-3 opening win on Tuesday. Schwarber’s drive carried 447 feet and Harper followed with a 418-foot shot.
“Some big home runs late by some really good hitters,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said. “That’s what got us.”
Tyler Mahle allowed one run on six hits in seven innings for Atlanta. Cristopher Sánchez allowed three runs in 6 2/3 innings for Philadelphia while throwing a career-high 116 pitches.
Painter gave up a one-out single to Mauricio Dubón in the 10th, then struck out Austin Riley before giving up a bloop single to Michael Harris II. Painter’s 0-2 fastball to Smith was called inside by plate umpire Adam Beck, but Painter and catcher J.T. Realmuto immediately called for a robo-ump challenge. ABS confirmed the ball clipped the strike zone, the first time a postseason game has ended with a strike-zone appeal.
Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr. walked, stole second and then stole third with Edmundo Sosa not covering the bag before scoring on Olson’s single in the first.
Sánchez didn’t allow another hit until Sean Murphy doubled to center field with one out in the fifth.
Mahle kept pace, though he didn’t have a perfect inning until the fifth, when he struck out Schwarber and Harper. Sánchez issued an intentional walk to Acuña with two outs before Baldwin’s grounder to second base ended the inning.
Injury scare for Mahle
Weiss said the Braves had a major scare when Mahle felt an abdominal pull during his pregame warmup.
“We didn’t know if he could make the start,” Weiss said, adding the scare came “right at game time when he came out of the bullpen.
“He ended up working through it and got better as the game went on. We were scrambling.”
Sosa leaves with injury
Sosa left the game after reaching on an infield single to open the ninth. He appeared to aggravate a leg injury and was replaced by pinch-runner Derek Hill. Phillies manager Don Mattingly said the injury did not appear to be serious.
Up next
Braves RHP Grant Holmes (10-6, 3.44) is expected to either start or pitch in bulk relief in Game 3 on Thursday against Phillies RHP Aaron Nola (7-12, 4.67).
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