With the Phillies staring at the edge and the bullpen offering little comfort, Don Mattingly made his boldest move of the night in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series. After Bryce Harper tied things up with an eighth-inning solo homer, Mattingly turned the game over to Andrew Painter and never looked anywhere else.
That call carried plenty of risk. Painter was a rookie starter who had spent much of the year struggling to be consistent, and he was being asked not just to keep the game tied, but to finish it off in extra innings.
Mattingly had already drawn heat for how he handled his bullpen in this series against the Braves, and this decision pushed the gamble even further. Still, the reality was simple: there weren’t many trustworthy choices.
Jhoan Duran was not in position to help, whether because of what happened in Game 1 or because of his pitch count. Either way, he never emerged from the bullpen, and there was very little activity behind him.
Painter made the move pay off. He delivered three scoreless innings and helped Philadelphia escape with a 4-3 win in extra innings, keeping the Phillies’ 2026 season alive and sending them into October baseball. For a team that needed somebody to steady the night, he did exactly that.
It also mattered because of who was on the other side. Painter had been hit hard by the Braves in the regular season, allowing 20 hits and nine runs across 14.2 innings in three starts, with an 8/7 K/BB line.
None of that showed Wednesday. In relief, he logged 3 IP, 3 K, 0 R, 3 H, 1 BB on 37 pitches, 25 of them strikes.
His biggest moments came in the 10th. Matt Olson opened the inning by taking a 3-2 fastball that was initially ruled a ball, but J.T.
Realmuto challenged it and the call was overturned. The pitch was just barely a strike, the kind of call that “would never be called a strike in the pre-ABS era.”
Painter then struck Olson out, and the inning got even tighter when the Braves eventually loaded the bases with two outs.
Realmuto challenged again with two outs against Dom Smith on an 0-2 fastball, and that call was overturned as well on a pitch that barely caught the inner edge. That was the final out, and it ended the game with the Phillies still standing.
In Other News...
Phillies Suddenly Face An Infield Problem If They Reach Game 3
Edmundo Sosas hard charge to first base in Game 2 of the Wild Card Round turned into an uncomfortable moment for the Phillies, who suddenly had to manage both the rest of the game and the possibility of an infield shuffle later in the series. Sosa was hurt on the play and was replaced by Derek Hill as a pinch runner, forcing Philadelphia to adjust defensively on the fly.
The immediate concern is what it means if the Phillies need a Game 3. Sosa has been part of their infield depth and flexibility, and any inability to use him would leave Philadelphia with a roster decision and a tighter margin for error if the series stretches on. [Read more 🡒]
Phillies Send Clear Message With Season On The Line In Game 2
After dropping Game 1 of their NLWC matchup with the Braves, the Phillies responded by reshaping the look of their lineup for Game 2. Brandon Marsh and Justin Crawford were both inserted into the outfield, and Bryson Stott was moved into the cleanup spot, a clear sign that Philadelphia is not treating this as a routine playoff follow-up. With Cristopher Sanchez set to start on the mound, the Phillies are leaning into a different mix as they try to keep their season from slipping away.
The changes underscore how much urgency sits behind every decision now, with Philadelphia needing a sharper offensive showing after the 5-3 loss in the opener. Moving pieces around this late in the year is never subtle, and the Phillies made it plain they were willing to alter the lineup rather than stand pat. What remains to be seen is whether the new alignment can deliver the kind of timely production the Braves forced them to chase. [Read more 🡒]
Phillies Just Exposed Their Biggest October Problem Again
The Phillies keep arriving at October with the kind of starting pitching that can carry a postseason series, but the rest of the roster has too often left them leaning on hope. Their bullpen has been a problem for stretches, and the offense never quite matched the expectations that come with a club built to chase a title. Even before the postseason began, the lineup had spent much of the season near the bottom in key offensive categories, then slipped further in September.
That concern only grew in the Wild Card series, where several regulars came in with underwhelming production and the questions around run support felt familiar. For a team with legitimate rotation strength, the issue is not whether it can keep games close, but whether the lineup can finally do enough to turn those close games into October wins. Until that changes, the Phillies are left trying to solve the same problem again. [Read more 🡒]