The Philadelphia Phillies‘ season looked over.
And then Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm and Andrew Painter rescued it. From 3-1 down, they won 4-3 in the NL Wild Card Series Game 2 on Wednesday in Atlanta to force a decisive Game 3 on Thursday.
The Phillies will certainly carry some momentum in after the come-from-behind victory.
They looked dead in the water after blowing a late lead on Tuesday and falling behind on Wednesday.
But in the top of the eighth, Schwarber and Harper went back-to-back home runs to tie the game.
And in the top of the tenth, Bohm hit an opposite-field solo homer for the lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
Painter was brilliant out of the bullpen, throwing three scoreless innings to end the game and be the winning pitcher.
The Phillies won’t have Painter on Wednesday, but they’ll have most hands on deck. It’s pretty clear what they have to do.
Phillies’ Game 3 Pitching Plan
Philadelphia will likely try to keep this a little close to the vest, but it’s relatively clear at least a portion of the approach they should take.
They’ll have Aaron Nola available in some form.
They’ll have Zack Wheeler available in some form.
And they’ll have Jhoan Duran available in some form.
Would they even need anyone else?
The Ringer’s Anthony Dabbundo doesn’t think so — he sums it up simply in this post on X:
You have to get 27 outs from Nola, Wheeler, and Duran https://t.co/Gy7iLXUoZv
— Anthony Dabbundo (@AnthonyDabbundo) September 30, 2026
That certainly sounds like a good plan, if it works.
Potential Dilemmas
There are a bunch of dilemmas in that plan, even if it also seems like a good one.
For one, Wheeler would be pitching on short rest. That may make it tough for him to have as much length as usual, and you never know how a pitcher’s stuff will respond in such a scenario.
Another aspect: Nola has been a great Phillies pitcher for a long time, but this season hasn’t been his best. He’s been susceptible to home runs and leaving pitchers over the heart of the plate, and that’s not ideal against the Braves.
And with Duran, it’s tough to know exactly how to use him after he struggled on Tuesday after being brought in for the seventh inning — either it was going to be a three-inning save, or he was the bridge guy to face the top of the order — but either way, he lost the game by giving up an Austin Riley home run.
Duran got to rest on Wednesday because of Painter, so that works out nicely that the Phillies have another game. But they’ll need the good version of Duran if this logical pitching plan is going to work out in its optimal form.
Phillies’ Game 3 Pitching Plan Clear With Top Arms Available