Well, how about that for a gut punch? The Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies are locked into a winner-take-all Game 3 in the Wild Card Series after another absolute nail-biter went down to the wire. But the real shocker came after the final out, when manager Walt Weiss dropped a bombshell about Tyler Mahle’s heroic Game 2 performance that nobody saw coming.
Mahle’s Iron Man Start (Literally)
For seven-and-a-half innings, it felt like the Braves were gonna snatch another one, largely thanks to Tyler Mahle. He was absolutely fantastic, giving up just one run through seven strong innings. The guy was dealing, making his first career Postseason start look like a walk in the park. Then Weiss spilled the beans: Mahle was gutting his way through a pregame injury. “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 explained in the postgame presser. He elaborated, saying it was “touch-and-go” right up to game time after Mahle came out of the bullpen. “We weren’t sure… He ended up working through it, and it got better as the game went on. But we were scrambling early on.” Knowing that, Mahle’s outing becomes even more incredible. What a warrior to go out there and tough it out like that! But now, his status is totally in question going forward, and you just gotta hope he’ll be feeling better if this Postseason run keeps going.
Bullpen Woes And A Manager’s Wisdom
While Mahle was battling on the mound, the back-and-forth nature of the game ultimately swung the Phillies’ way. Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper went back-to-back against Dylan Lee in the eighth inning, right after the Braves had taken the lead. Then, it was Alec Bohm who bopped one out against Didier Fuentes in the tenth to essentially decide the contest. It’s been a tough welcome to Postseason life for Fuentes, who also gave up that big triple to J.T. Realmuto in Game 1. Talk about a rough start. But Weiss, drawing on his own playing experience, tried to keep Fuentes’ head up. “When you’re a late-inning reliever, these things happen,” Weiss said. “I’ve seen some great ones that this has happened to. I saw one of the greatest. I was at shortstop when Kirk Gibson did his thing off [Dennis Eckersley,] one of the greatest closers of all time. It comes with the territory when you…” You gotta respect a manager who understands the pressure and offers that kind of perspective.
So, here we are: Game 3. Winner-take-all. With Mahle’s status up in the air, the stakes couldn’t be higher. You know both teams are gonna leave it all out there. This is what Postseason baseball is all about, folks.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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