The Braves had the Phillies dead to rights in the seventh inning. Then Bryce Harper happened. It was a wild, messy game that saw the Phillies claw back to force a Game 3. You can’t win playoff games when your defense falls apart like that.
The seventh inning was a disaster for Atlanta. Drake Baldwin hit a fly ball that Harper misplayed, which turned into a double and let a run score. According to CBS Sports, the ball had an 89 mph exit velocity. Harper admitted, “Obviously a ball I should have caught.” Just prior a bunt was mishandled by Alec Bohm, while Matt Olson drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to make the score 3-1 for the Braves. The Phillies’ hitters didn’t just sit there, though. They hit back-to-back home runs from Harper and Kyle Schwarber to tie it up.
Mahle’s Splitter met its match
Tyler Mahle was dominant for much of the night. He used his splitter constantly. Per FanGraphs, Mahle threw 55 splitters out of 95 total pitches. The Phillies were swinging at 35 of them and missing 13 times. It looked like he might run away with the game. But the Phillies found a way to stay alive. Even when the Braves took the lead, the Philly bats stayed aggressive.
The bullpen blew the lead
The Braves’ bullpen failed to close the door. Braves manager Walt Weiss said that Dylan Lee is their “high-leverage lefty” and that he “threw the ball really well yesterday.” But yesterday isn’t today. Lee gave up those first two home runs to lefties this season. You can’t give up back-to-back homers in a high-stakes moment and expect to win. The Phillies’ comeback was fueled by pure momentum. Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly noted, “Schwarb, Harp, after we give up those two, they got momentum.”
Atlanta must fix the defense
This loss hurts because the Braves were in control. The Phillies have a bad record when losing Game 1 of a series. According to CBS Sports, they are 0-8 in those situations. Atlanta is much better, going 18-4 in series after winning the opener. But you can’t rely on your stats when you can’t catch a fly ball. The Braves need to tighten up the corners if they want to win Game 3.
