Alec Bohm put the Phillies on top.
Some technology helped Philadelphia keep its season alive.
With runners on first and second and two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, the Phillies completed their 4-3 comeback over the Braves in Game 2 of the wild-card series with the help of the automated ball-strike challenge system.
Atlanta’s Dominic Smith took an 0-2 fastball from Andrew Painter that home plate umpire Andrew Beck initially called inside and off the plate for a ball at Truist Park on Wednesday.
But Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto quickly challenged the call. The veteran catcher was right, as the pitch did clip the inside corner for strike three.
It marks the first time ABS — which was introduced to the majors this year — has been used at the major league level to end a playoff game.
The pressure-packed 10th inning was just the final chapter in what was a roller-coaster Game 2 for the Phillies. Atlanta grabbed the lead in the bottom of the seventh after Bryce Harper misplayed a fly ball from Drake Baldwin that put the Braves ahead by one. A Matt Olson sacrifice fly made it 3-1.
But one inning later, Kyle Schwarber and Harper hit solo homers to get the Phillies even before Bohm played hero in the top of the 10th with a solo home run off Didier Fuentes to right field, just clearing the high wall.
Painter, normally a starter, provided yeoman’s work out of the bullpen with three scoreless innings and three punchouts — all of which came in the final frame.
The Phillies might be the first MLB team to seal a playoff win on an ABS challenge, but they’re not even the first pro team to do so in the last week. The Triple-A Oklahoma City Comets (Dodgers) won the Triple-A National Championship over the weekend via an overturned ABS decision.
A win-or-go-home Game 3 is set for 2 p.m. Thursday in Atlanta.
