Braves can’t capitalize on Harper error, allow trio of late home runs to drop Game 2 to Phillies

ATLANTA -- The Philadelphia Phillies used a trio of late home runs in response to Bryce Harper’s late-game blunder to beat the Atlanta Braves 4-3 and even the National League Wild Card Series.

“We’ve been winning those games all year because of our bullpen. Bullpen has been our most consistent strength,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said after the game. “But some big home runs late by some really good hitters. That’s what got us.”

A winner-take-all Game 3 is set for Thursday. The game will start at 2 p.m. ET unless it’s the only remaining series, or if White Sox-Astros is the only other active series. Whoever wins will face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series, which begins Saturday at Dodger Stadium.

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Down 3-1 after Harper botched a routine fly ball in the seventh inning, the Phillies tied the game in the eighth on back-to-back home runs by Kyle Schwarber and Harper. Harper’s shot was a moment of redemption after his blunder, and it ultimately paid off when Alec Bohm put the Phillies ahead with a solo home run off Didier Fuentes in the 10th inning.

While Weiss hasn’t officially decided who’ll start Thursday, Grant Holmes is expected to handle the bulk of the work on the mound for Atlanta in Game 3. The Phillies will likely start right-hander Zack Wheeler on three days’ rest, and will have Aaron Nola available as well.

A scare for Mahle

Tyler Mahle escaped first-inning trouble Wednesday, allowing hits to three of the first four batters he faced but just one run. He worked around baserunners throughout the outing and held the Phillies to one run over seven innings.

Mahle nearly did not make the start after feeling an abdominal pull during his pregame warmup, Weiss said after the game.

“We had a scare before the game. He felt an abdominal pull. We didn’t know if he was going to make the start,” Weiss said. “It was right at game time after he came out of the bullpen. He ended up working through it, and it got better as the game went on. But we were scrambling early on.”

Still, Mahle became the first Braves pitcher to allow one run or fewer over at least seven innings in a postseason game since Max Fried threw seven scoreless innings against the Cincinnati Reds in Game 1 of the 2020 Wild Card Series.

Mahle’s trade-deadline acquisition became a critical move for Atlanta, particularly as injuries depleted the pitching staff late in the season. The 32-year-old had a 5.13 ERA over his first 18 starts with San Francisco. In nine starts after joining the Braves, Mahle posted a 1.99 ERA over 54.1 innings with 48 strikeouts.

With Bryce Elder undergoing knee surgery and Martín Pérez sidelined by back inflammation, Mahle’s emergence alongside Chris Sale gave Atlanta a formidable one-two combination at the front of its rotation.

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Philadelphia’s Cristopher Sánchez also had a rough first inning by his standards, allowing a run on a walk and a hit. He settled in after that, holding the Braves to Matt Olson’s first-inning RBI single through the first six innings.

Sánchez ultimately pitched 6.2 innings, though his outing could have ended differently had Bryce Harper not misplayed a routine fly ball in right field in the seventh. The left-hander allowed a .392 OPS to left-handed hitters during the regular season.

Acuña does a Rickey

Despite multiple injuries, including two torn ACLs, Ronald Acuña Jr. is tied for the seventh-most stolen bases in the majors since 2018. He showed off that speed in the first inning of Wednesday’s Game 2 against the Phillies.

Acuña, batting leadoff, walked to open the game and stole second during Drake Baldwin’s strikeout. He then stole third before scoring on Matt Olson’s game-tying single.

The sequence brought to mind the late Rickey Henderson, the all-time leader in career stolen bases and single-season stolen bases.