Categories: 2023 Postgame Recaps

Game 2 unravels late for Phillies as Braves even NLDS

Zack Wheeler carried a no-hitter into the sixth in a Game 2 that subsequently unraveled. (John Adams/Icon Sportswire)

The Phillies were on the brink of the happiest possible flight. Zack Wheeler had a no-hitter in the sixth inning, his team up four in the game and 1-0 in the series in front of a Truist Park crowd that had fallen silent several innings prior.

Even in the very moment Ozzie Albies broke up Wheeler’s no-hit bid with a two-out knock, moving Ronald Acuña Jr. to third with two outs, the Phillies were comfortable.

Everything unraveled in a flash.

It started on that same play, when the throw back in from Nick Castellanos kicked off Trea Turner’s glove. Acuña — he of 73 stolen bases in the regular season — broke home immediately.

4-1.

Wheeler began the seventh by allowing a leadoff single to Matt Olson and striking out Marcell Ozuna. Up next: Travis d’Arnaud, who entered Monday 7-for-18 with a double and a homer all-time against Wheeler.

Those numbers are loud, but Wheeler had struck out d’Arnaud twice in the evening, retiring him three times overall. It was a toss-up of a decision for Rob Thomson, whose ultra-aggressive bullpen strategy helped steal Game 1 on Saturday night.

He went the other way in Game 2.

4-3.

Jeff Hoffman was one strike away in the eighth. Hoffman, who hadn’t allowed a home run since Aug. 8 and who’s pitched his way into his role as one of the Phillies’ most-trusted relievers, had the tying run on third in Acuña but was one strike away from stranding him and sending it to the ninth with the lead in tact.

Instead, in the biggest of moments, Riley provided the biggest of blows.

5-4. Ultimately, ballgame.

But despite Wheeler’s no-hitter and the silence at Truist Park and the bullpen looking formidable as ever in Game 1, the unraveling began much earlier. The Phillies left 11 runners on base. They left the bases loaded (with a 3-1 count) after getting on the board in the first. Two on in the fourth. Two on with one out in the sixth.

Technically, they didn’t leave anyone on in the ninth, but the way the game ended could unofficially count as a 12th.

After Bryce Harper worked a leadoff walk and J.T. Realmuto popped out, Castellanos — the hero of NLDS Game 1 last year — nearly assumed a similar role in Game 2 this year. He lifted a 392-foot liner deep into right center field, good for a homer in five MLB stadiums.

Truist Park is one of the other 25. Michael Harris II ran the ball down with a leaping catch at the wall, shades of Chas McCormick in Game 5 of the World Series but punctuated in even more gut-wrenching fashion.

Harper had already passed second by the time the ball was caught, seemingly counting on scoring from first if it dropped and risking the consequences if not. He couldn’t retreat in time. Riley, fittingly, scooped up a Harris throw that dribbled past multiple Braves infielders before firing on the run to Matt Olson at first.

In a game where underaggression contributed to the deficit’s trimming to one, overaggression ended things. It didn’t hinge on two plays, though: A costly error gave life to a team and a stadium that severely lacked it, and nearly a dozen left on base allowed it to matter.

Before all that, the Phillies jumped out to a 1-0 first-inning lead in typical fashion. Trea Turner’s 11th at bat of the postseason was his third double and fifth hit overall before Alec Bohm — after a dreadful Game 1 — brought him home on the first pitch with yet another RBI knock.

Realmuto then sucked the life out of the building with an opposite-field shot in the third, his second homer of the postseason.

And, in the fifth, Castellanos singled, stole second and advanced to third on the errant throwdown before Bryson Stott extended his 2023 postseason RBI lead to seven with a sacrifice fly.

The Phillies built a nice lead, but the opportunity to put a juggernaut away is a rare one. The Phillies had several. They missed them. And now, one of the more anticipated Division Series you’ll ever find is living up to its billing, tied 1-1 heading back to Citizens Bank Park, the two-game split an outcome the Phillies will certainly take — but the momentum entirely gone.

Ticket IQ Next Game