BRAVES RALLY PAST PHILS
Baseball’s most potent group of sluggers finally got into the swing of things — maybe just in time to save the season for the Atlanta Braves.
Throw in a game-ending double play for the ages, courtesy of a remarkable catch by Michael Harris II and some astute positioning by Austin Riley, and suddenly this 104win team has gone from down and out to showing a little postseason swagger.
Travis d’Arnaud and Riley hit two-run homers as the Braves, who were held without a hit into the sixth inning, rallied from a four-run deficit to stun the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 Monday night, evening the NL Division Series at one win apiece.
“It was really emotional, especially the way we came back,” d’Arnaud said. “That was one of my favorite postseason games ever.”
D’Arnaud, who started at catcher over slumping Sean Murphy, gave the Braves hope with his shot into the left-field seats in the seventh, cutting Philadelphia’s lead to 4-3.
It was Atlanta’s first extra-base hit of the series.
Riley provided the second, driving a 3-2 pitch from Jeff Hoffman (0-1) into the Phillies bullpen with two outs in the eighth to put the Braves ahead for the first time in the best-of-five series. Ronald Acuña Jr. scored ahead of Riley after being plunked on the left arm by Hoffman’s first pitch coming in from the bullpen.
“I just have faith in those guys,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “You know what? They give you a hard 27 (outs) . ... They’re never going to stop fighting in the batter’s box.”
It ended in equally stunning fashion. With Bryce Harper aboard, Nick Castellanos drove one to deep right-center, only to be robbed on a great leaping catch by Harris slamming into the fence.
“I knew off the bat it was going to be close to the fence,” Harris said. “I knew once I went back I wasn’t stopping. I was going to do anything I could to get a glove on it. If my body had to go down because of that, I would have done that.”
Harper had rounded second base when Harris made the grab. He backtracked desperately, and the throw back to the infield skidded past second baseman Ozzie Albies. But Riley alertly backed up the play and zipped a throw to first that completed the double play.
It was the first postseason game in baseball history to end on a double play involving an outfielder, according to Elias Sports Bureau.
Just like that, the series is all tied up. Game 3 is Wednesday at Philadelphia.
Phillies manager Rob Thomson talked about Harper’s baserunning blunder.
“Usually you don’t pass the base,” Thomson said.
Riley talked about it as well after backing up on a play that he never could’ve expected to be involved in.
“It ended up just being right spot at the right time,” Riley said.
A.J. Minter (1-0) earned the win and Raisel Iglesias claimed his first save of this postseason.
With Zack Wheeler dominating a lineup that tied a big league record with 307 homers, the Phillies built a 4-0 lead. J.T. Realmuto hit a two-run homer in the third off Max Fried, sandwiched between Alec Bohm’s runscoring single and Bryson Stott’s sacrifice fly.
Wheeler fanned the side in each of the first two innings, with the Braves making contact on just 12 of 26 strikes. Matt Olson was the lone baserunner, reaching when Turner bobbled a routine grounder to shortstop.