In the long theater of October baseball, where seasons compress into single swings, the Philadelphia Phillies refused to let theirs end on Wednesday night. Alec Bohm's 10th-inning home run off Didier Fuentes delivered a 4-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves, keeping Philadelphia alive and forcing a winner-take-all Game 3. The moment arrived not in spite of adversity, but through it — carried on the backs of Schwarber and Harper, who erased a two-run deficit with back-to-back blasts, and of Harper himself, who had let a catchable ball slip past his glove one inning before his redemptive swing.
Phillies Force Game 3 With Bohm's 10th-Inning Homer Against Braves
Probably should have been caught, obviously.
Mark
So Bohm's home run in the tenth—was that the turning point, or did the game really shift when Schwarber and Harper went back-to-back in the seventh?
Mimi
Both, in a way. The back-to-back homers tied it up and kept them alive, but Bohm's swing is what actually won it. Without that, they're going home down in the series.
Luke
Right, but let's be clear about the context. The Phillies were down 3-1 before those seventh-inning homers. That's a real hole. And Sánchez had already thrown 116 pitches by the end of six innings—that's a lot of stress on the bullpen.
Mimi
Exactly. So when Painter came in for extra innings and threw three scoreless, that was the real foundation. He gave Bohm a chance to be the hero.
Mark
What about Harper's error in the sixth? That seemed to matter.
Mimi
It did. That double off his glove scored Murphy and made it 2-1 Atlanta. But then Harper came back and hit a 418-foot homer in the seventh. That's the kind of response you need in October.
Luke
Though we should note he wasn't officially charged with an error. The ball glanced off his glove—it was a tough play, and he said himself it probably should have been caught. But the box score doesn't mark it as an error.
Mark
So the Phillies have beaten Atlanta in the postseason before?
Mimi
Three times. 1993 NLCS, then 2022 and 2023 NLDS. They have a real track record against these Braves.
Luke
That's worth noting, but it's also worth remembering that postseason history doesn't guarantee anything. Game 3 is a new game.
O Pulso
- Atlanta had built a 3-1 lead and looked poised to close out the series, with Tyler Mahle quietly dominant through seven innings.
- A Bryce Harper misplay in right field allowed a go-ahead run to score, deepening Philadelphia's hole and raising the stakes of every at-bat that followed.
- Schwarber and Harper answered with back-to-back home runs in the seventh — 447 and 418 feet respectively — erasing the deficit in a matter of minutes and silencing Atlanta's momentum.
- Andrew Painter held the Braves scoreless across three extra innings, stranding runners and keeping the Phillies' season breathing long enough for Bohm's decisive blow.
- Bohm's two-out, 357-foot drive to right in the 10th ended the night and set up a winner-take-all Game 3 in Atlanta, where Philadelphia's postseason history over the Braves looms large.
In the long theater of October baseball, where seasons compress into single swings, the Philadelphia Phillies refused to let theirs end on Wednesday night. Alec Bohm's 10th-inning home run off Didier Fuentes delivered a 4-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves, keeping Philadelphia alive and forcing a winner-take-all Game 3. The moment arrived not in spite of adversity, but through it — carried on the backs of Schwarber and Harper, who erased a two-run deficit with back-to-back blasts, and of Harper himself, who had let a catchable ball slip past his glove one inning before his redemptive swing.
The Philadelphia Phillies are still alive, and it took ten innings, a costly misplay, two towering home runs, and one decisive swing to make it so. Alec Bohm delivered the killing blow — a two-out, 357-foot home run off Braves reliever Didier Fuentes in the 10th inning — to give Philadelphia a 4-3 victory in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series and force a winner-take-all Game 3.
The road to that moment was anything but smooth. Atlanta had taken a 3-1 lead behind Tyler Mahle, who was quietly efficient through seven innings. The Phillies' own starter, Cristopher Sánchez, labored through 6⅔ innings at a career-high 116 pitches, giving up three runs. Philadelphia looked vulnerable — and then, in the sixth inning, Bryce Harper let a Drake Baldwin double glance off his glove near the warning track, allowing a run to score and pushing the deficit to two.
Harper knew it. "Probably should have been caught, obviously," he said afterward. But baseball has a way of offering second chances to those willing to take them. One inning later, Harper stepped to the plate with Schwarber on base and the Phillies trailing 3-1. Schwarber had just launched a 447-foot blast. Harper followed with a 418-foot shot off Dylan Lee — the same pitcher who had beaten Philadelphia in Game 1 — and just like that, the game was tied.
With extra innings played under traditional rules — no runner placed at second — Andrew Painter took the mound for Philadelphia and proceeded to throw three scoreless frames, stranding runners and preserving the tie long enough for Bohm's moment to arrive. Game 3 is set for Thursday in Atlanta, where the Phillies carry the weight of postseason history: they have beaten the Braves in the 1993 NLCS and in back-to-back NLDS matchups in 2022 and 2023. Atlanta will be looking to rewrite that story. Philadelphia will be looking to repeat it.
The Philadelphia Phillies forced a winner-take-all Game 3 against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday, pulling off a 4-3 victory in ten innings that hinged on one swing. Alec Bohm, with two outs and the game still tied, sent a 357-foot drive to right field off Braves reliever Didier Fuentes—his third career postseason home run—and the Phillies' season stayed alive.
The path to that moment had been a study in momentum shifts. The Braves had built a 3-1 lead, and the Phillies looked vulnerable. But in the seventh inning, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper answered back-to-back. Schwarber's blast traveled 447 feet. Harper followed with a 418-foot shot off Dylan Lee, the pitcher who had earned the win in Atlanta's 5-3 victory in Game 1 the day before. Just like that, the deficit vanished and the game was knotted at 3-3.
Harper's at-bat carried extra weight because of what had happened an inning earlier. In the sixth, a Drake Baldwin double had glanced off Harper's glove in right field, allowing Sean Murphy to score and pushing Atlanta ahead 2-1. Harper had gotten a poor jump on the ball near the warning track and was leaping for it when it slipped past. He was not charged with an error, but he knew what should have happened. "Probably should have been caught, obviously," he said afterward. The miss had cost Philadelphia a run. The home run was redemption.
The Braves had gotten their early lead through solid pitching and timely hitting. Tyler Mahle, Atlanta's starter, allowed just one run on six hits through seven innings. For Philadelphia, Cristopher Sánchez had thrown 116 pitches—a career high—to get through 6⅔ innings while giving up three runs. The Phillies' bullpen was taxed, which made what came next crucial.
When the game went to extra innings under traditional rules—no designated runner at second base—Andrew Painter took over the mound for Philadelphia. The regular-season starter worked three scoreless innings, stranding two runners in the tenth and striking out Dominic Smith after the Phillies won an ABS challenge. He kept the door open for Bohm's moment.
The Phillies now carry significant history into Game 3, scheduled for Thursday in Atlanta. Philadelphia has beaten the Braves in postseason play before: the 1993 National League Championship Series, then again in the National League Division Series in both 2022 and 2023. The Braves will be looking to avoid becoming part of that pattern again. The exact start time for Game 3 has not been set; MLB will choose between 2:15 p.m. ET or 8:15 p.m. ET depending on how the other Wild Card Series games conclude.
Citações Notáveis
Probably should have been caught, obviously.— Bryce Harper, on the sixth-inning play where a ball glanced off his glove
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