The Philadelphia Phillies had to overcome a lot on Wednesday afternoon to secure a 4-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves in Game 2 of their Wild Card Series.
The game was tied 1-1 in the bottom of the seventh when Phillies superstar Bryce Harper misplayed a routine fly ball in right field, which he ended up dropping and led to two Braves runs to give them a 3-1 lead.
However, it didn’t take long for Philadelphia to tie the game, as Kyle Schwarber and Harper recorded back-to-back solo home runs in the top of the eighth inning to tie the game at three runs apiece.
The game entered extra innings with that score when Alec Bohm hit a solo homer of his own in the top of the 10th to put the Phillies up 4-3, which ultimately became the winning run to even the series and set up a win-or-go-home Game 3 on Thursday.
Harper Drops Honest Postgame Quote
After the win, Harper spoke to the media and dropped an honest quote about both his error in the outfield and his home run to tie the game.
“I didn’t think he hit it very hard and then I realized he hit it only 89,” Harper admitted. “So I thought it was going to be a pop fly right at me. Probably a ball I should’ve caught… but you gotta flush it as quick as possible knowing that Lee’s coming in the game.
“And obviously I was hearing it pretty good from Braves and Phillies fans from behind the dugout. So gotta show up in that situation and Kyle had a great at bat and I wasn’t not trying to hit a homer, I can tell you that.”
“I wasn’t not trying to hit a homer, I can tell you that.” 😅
Bryce Harper talks about his game-tying home run in the 8th inning of today’s game. https://t.co/9eu3VhHvMA pic.twitter.com/1we5xD5PPz
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) September 30, 2026
Looking Ahead to Game 3
Now, everything comes down to Thursday, with the game scheduled for either 2:15 p.m. ET or 8:15 p.m. ET depending on how the other three Wild Card games shake out.
For Philadelphia, it’s likely that either RHP Aaron Nola or RHP Zack Wheeler will take the mound. However, if it’s Wheeler, he’ll be on fairly short rest after last pitching on Sunday.
Bryce Harper Drops Honest Quote After Phillies’ Game 2 Win Over Braves