Phillies Force Game 3 With 4-3 Win on Bohm's 10th-Inning Homer

Q: After Atlanta seized control on Harper’s misplay, what really swung Game 2—the back-to-back homers, the Braves’ missed knockout punch, or Painter’s poise?

The swing point was the Phillies’ back-to-back homers in the eighth, with Andrew Painter’s poise making sure that momentum held. Atlanta seemed to have seized the game when Bryce Harper’s misplay helped turn a 1-1 tie into a 3-1 Braves lead in the seventh. That was the Braves’ chance to deliver a knockout, and they did not add enough. Up two runs at home with Philadelphia reeling, Atlanta left the door open. Philadelphia burst through it immediately. Kyle Schwarber’s leadoff homer in the eighth cut the lead to one and changed the feel of the game. Harper’s two-run shot right after that was the emotional and tactical turning point: it erased his mistake, tied the score at 3-3 and flipped the pressure back onto Atlanta. Given the timing and the context, those consecutive home runs were the decisive swing. Painter’s work was the other reason the comeback mattered. The rookie covered three scoreless relief innings, steadied the game in extra innings and finished it despite traffic on the bases in the 10th. His strikeout of Dominic Smith to end the game, helped by the Phillies’ successful ABS challenge, showed the calm that kept Atlanta from answering after Alec Bohm’s go-ahead homer. So the homers changed the game; the Braves’ inability to extend the lead made that possible; and Painter’s composure turned the momentum shift into a win.

3 articles · Updated · ESPN · Sep 30

Alec Bohm's two-out, 10th-inning homer lifted Philadelphia to a 4-3 win over Atlanta, tying the NL Wild Card Series at 1-1 and sending it to a decisive Game 3.
Down 3-1 in the eighth, the Phillies rallied on back-to-back home runs from Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, whose game-tying shot erased the damage from his seventh-inning fielding error.
Andrew Painter steadied Philadelphia's taxed bullpen with 3 scoreless innings, then ended the first postseason game decided by an automated ball-strike challenge by getting Dominic Smith on a reviewed strike three.
Atlanta had taken control behind Tyler Mahle's 7 strong innings and runs sparked by Drake Baldwin's RBI double and Matt Olson's sacrifice fly, but the Braves again face a winner-take-all game against a Phillies club that has repeatedly ousted them in October.

Sources

ESPN2h ago

Alec Bohm Homer Caps Phillies Rally, Forces Game 3 vs. Braves

New York Post 1d ago

Bryce Harper makes up for costly Phillies blunder with game-tying homer

The Sun Chronicle7h ago

Bohm's homer in 10th lifts Phillies over Braves 4-3 to force decisive Game 3 | Sports | thesunchronicle.com

17 Sources

How did Bryce Harper turn a game-changing error into a season-saving homer, and what did Andrew Painter’s relief gem reveal about the Phillies’ October chances?

After Atlanta seized control on Harper’s misplay, what really swung Game 2—the back-to-back homers, the Braves’ missed knockout punch, or Painter’s poise?