With his back against the wall, Phillies manager Don Mattingly really rolled the dice on Wednesday. After Bryce Harper's eighth inning solo home run tied Game 2 of the Wild Card Series, Mattingly called on Andrew Painter to come in relief. He never called on anyone else for the remainder of the game.
Mattingly was already being criticized for his bullpen management this series against the Braves, but his riskiness went one step further by opting for a rookie starting pitcher who struggled all year to both hold the tie and ultimately close out the win in extra frames. To wit, Mattingly didn't have many options. Jhoan Duran was not a viable option for this game, whether you want to point to his shortcomings in Game 1 or his pitch count. Either way, he never showed up in the bullpen, where precious little stirring occurred.
And somehow, some way, Mattingly's decision saved the Phillies' 2026 season. Painter threw three scoreless relief frames as the Phillies hung on for a 4-3 victory in extra innings. Philadelphia will officially play October baseball, and fans can exhale knowing that Painter has the ability to come through on the mound.
Andrew Painter's clutch pitching provides some faith in bullpen as Phillies live another day in playoffs
Painter logged two relief appearances in his rookie season and made 23 starts. He didn't impress consistently in either role. But something clicked for him on Wednesday against a Braves team that tagged him in three regular season starts (14.2 IP, 20 hits, 9 runs, 8/7 K/BB).
His final line on Wednesday: 3 IP, 3 K, 0 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 37 pitches (25 strikes). His two most important pitches came in the 10th inning. On a 3-2 pitch against Matt Olson to lead off the 10th, Painter's fastball was initially called a ball. J.T. Realmuto called for a challenge, and the pitch was barely a strike. Like, we're talking about a pitch that would never be called a strike in the pre-ABS era.
Regardless, Painter found the zone, and it set him up well for the rest of the inning. The Braves wound up having two runners aboard with two outs after Olson's strikeout, too, so that strike proved to be extremely important.
And then with two outs, Realmuto challenged another call. On an 0-2 fastball against Dom Smith, the call was overturned again on a pitch that barely brushed the inner part of the plate. That ended the game, keeping the Phillies' season afloat, all while revitalizing some faith in what Painter can do for this team.
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