Alec Bohm's 10th-inning homer, Andrew Painter's clutch relief deliver Phillies Game 2 wild-card win vs. Braves

With free agency looming, Alec Bohm was struggling mightily during the first half of the 2026 campaign. Through June 17, he was slashing.227/.280/.369. That day was also when his Philadelphia Phillies optioned rookie starting pitcher Andrew Painter to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.More than three months later, Bohm and Painter saved the Phillies' season.Bohm hit a go-ahead solo home run in the 10th inning Wednesday in Game 2 of the National League wild-card series against the Atlanta Braves. He offered the Phillies a late lead they desperately needed after going down 3-1 in an elimination game, and Painter preserved it.Making his postseason debut — out of the bullpen, no less — Painter delivered three scoreless innings of relief.The 23-year-old righty sealed Philadelphia's 4-3 victory with a 99-mph four-seam fastball that clipped the inside edge of the zone and that ABS overturned for strike three to clinch a game-ending strikeout.The NL East champion Braves came into the afternoon riding high after Austin Riley's eighth-inning, three-run homer lifted them to a 5-3 victory in Game 1.At the onset of Game 2, Philadelphia's season rested in the palm of Cristopher Sánchez's left hand. The sterling southpaw, the runner-up for the NL Cy Young Award last year, took the mound. The Phillies needed his best stuff, especially considering their bullpen inconsistencies and that they tabbed closer Jhoan Duran for two innings in the series-opening defeat.As was the case in Game 1, the Phillies established a 1-0 advantage in the opening frame. Trea Turner led off with a double down the right-center alley. Bryce Harper drove him in, going the opposite way on a single to left. For reference, Braves right-hander Tyler Mahle had given up a combined one earned run in his two starts against the Phillies earlier this month.Mahle eventually settled in, though, and so did Sánchez after he conceded a first-inning run as well. Atlanta got on the board in part because of Ronald Acuña Jr.'s baserunning. After working a seven-pitch leadoff walk, he stole a pair of bags. The former NL MVP — who led the NL in stolen bases in 2019 and 2023 — swiped third with two outs and Matt Olson at the plate. Olson drove him home with a single to tie the game.Ronald Acuña Jr. makes an impact immediately 😤He successfully steals second AND third base, then comes around to score! pic.twitter.com/OtfgjQv3EZ— MLB (@MLB) September 30, 2026 After those two first-inning runs, it stayed 1-1 until the seventh.Sánchez dialed up 1-2-3 innings in the second and fourth. Following a 23-pitch first frame, he discovered a groove that came with improved efficiency. In the third, he caught Acuña looking at three straight strikes.When all was said and done, Sánchez went 6 2/3 with six strikeouts and three earned runs allowed. He recorded 116 pitches, eight more than he accounted for in any game in the regular season.As for Mahle, he logged six strikeouts in seven innings with just one run surrendered. His splitter proved spellbinding. The 32-year-old, whom the Braves acquired from the San Francisco Giants ahead of the trade deadline, deployed that pitch to punch out both Kyle Schwarber and Harper in the fifth inning.Things got hairy for Sánchez in the sixth. Atlanta had the bases loaded with one out. But Sánchez stayed composed and induced a ground ball toward first that led to a 3-2-3 double play. Bohm fired to home before scurrying to the first-base bag to make the inning-ending putout.3-2-3 DOUBLE PLAYThe Phillies escape the bases-loaded jam! pic.twitter.com/5lKM9tYRjr— MLB (@MLB) September 30, 2026 More trouble followed. In the seventh, with two men on, Drake Baldwin lifted a fly ball to right field that Harper badly misplayed. He didn't expect it to carry as far as it did and wound up leaping to try to make up for lost ground. But that was too little, too late, as the ball hit off Harper's glove. Baldwin was credited with an RBI double. The extra-base hit advanced Ha-Seong Kim to third, and an Olson sac fly plated Kim to put the Braves up 3-1. In the next half-inning, Harper instantly redeemed himself. After a 447-foot no-doubter from Schwarber quieted Truist Park in leading off. Then Harper also teed off on Mahle's replacement, lefty reliever Dylan Lee. Harper's solo shot traveled to a similar spot beyond the right-center wall but not quite as far, measuring 418 feet.Those back-to-back homers erased Philadelphia's two-run deficit and made it 3-3.BRYCE HARPERBACK-TO-BACKTHIS GAME IS TIED pic.twitter.com/fiIJdIM4oz— MLB (@MLB) September 30, 2026 Bohm's extra-inning, opposite-field dinger finally gave the Phillies back the lead — one they wouldn't relinquish.Follow along with Yahoo Sports for in-game updates, highlights and more from Game 2 of the National League wild-card series between the Braves and Phillies.