Bryce Harper just pulled off one of the wildest swings of emotion a ballplayer can have, going from a brutal defensive blunder to launching a game-tying bomb in the same game. His heroic, game-tying home run after a truly ugly misplay earlier in Game 2 against the Braves forced a decisive Game 3, keeping their Wild Card Series hopes alive. The Phillies scraped out a 4-3 win in 10 innings, but man, it was a roller coaster.
When the Defense Went Sideways
The questionable Phillies defense, a hot topic since they shuffled things around at the trade deadline to bring in Luis Arraez, was on full, painful display in the seventh inning. That move pushed Alec Bohm from third base to first, and Harper from first back to right field. The results? Not always positive. Bohm started the seventh inning mess by failing to get an out on a bunt, letting Sean Murphy beat the throw to second. Immediately after, Drake Baldwin lifted a fly ball to right field that Harper badly misplayed. This wasn’t some screamer, folks. Statcast had Baldwin’s ball with an 89 mph exit velocity and an absurd .080 expected batting average, yet it dropped for a double, putting the Braves up 2-1.
Harper knew it, too. “Obviously a world of emotion there,” he said, clearly frustrated. “I didn’t think he hit it very hard… so 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.” Interim manager Don Mattingly echoed that, saying, “I think it’s a ball Bryce probably thinks he should have caught.” Matt Olson followed with a sacrifice fly, making it 3-1 Braves. Those two misplays directly contributed to both runs, turning a manageable inning into a disaster.
The Bat Answers Back
But baseball, man, it’s a game of redemption, and Harper wasn’t done writing his story. In the very next half-inning, with the season teetering, Harper stepped up and blasted a game-tying home run! Not just him, either, but Kyle Schwarber went back-to-back with him to knot the score at 3-3. Can you believe it? Those were the first two home runs Braves setup man Dylan Lee, their high-leverage lefty, had given up to left-handed batters all season. Braves manager Walt Weiss looked stunned, saying Lee “put down the same part of the order yesterday pretty easily.” Mattingly summed it up perfectly: “Schwarb, Harp, after we give up those two, they got momentum. And to be able to get that back right away was huge.” Harper wasn’t just a seventh-inning hero either, he drove in the game’s first run with a single in the first inning, finishing 2-for-5.
Alec Bohm, who botched that bunt earlier, found his own redemption too, hitting the go-ahead home run in the top of the tenth inning. And then Andrew Painter? He came in and threw three heroic innings to seal the deal. Just an absolutely wild, gut-wrenching, exhilarating win.
Now, it’s on to Game 3. The winner takes all, and after a game like that, you just know it’s going to be a slugfest. It’s win or go home, baby, and after that performance, anything feels possible for the Phillies.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
Leave a Reply