Braves vs. Phillies takeaways: Atlanta ties NLDS behind bats of Olson, Riley, d'Arnaud

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The Atlanta Braves broke through against Philadelphia Philles ace Zack Wheeler with a two-out rally in the sixth inning, and that plus the excellent pitching of Kyle Wright allowed them to take Game 2 by a score of 3-0. That win evens the best-of-five National League Division Series at a game apiece. 

The series now shifts to Philly for Game 3 on Friday. The winner of this series will advance to the NLCS to face either the Dodgers or Padres.

Now for some takeaways from Game 2. 

Kyle Wright pitched a gem

After Max Fried's shaky outing in Game 1, the Braves needed a good outing from Game 2 starter Kyle Wright. He gave them that and then some. Wright twirled six scoreless innings against the Phillies, and along the way he allowed two hits, struck out six, and walked only one. Of his 83 pitches, 52 went for strikes. In suffocating the Phillies, Wright leaned heavily on his fastball and curve, and he also mixed in his sinker. That was essential, since Wright's four-seamer in Game 2 was down about a full mph relative to his regular-season average fastball velocity. 

In terms of Game Score, which is a quick-and-dirty Bill James metric that measures a pitcher's dominance or lack thereof in a given start (50 is average and anything 90 or higher is an absolute gem), Wright put up a 73. Just twice during the regular season did he exceed that figure, and those two starts came against the Pirates and Marlins – two lineups that can't compare to Philly's. 

Zack Wheeler was almost as good

Wheeler was dominant in his Wild Card Series start against the Cardinals, and during the regular season he racked up 25 strikeouts against only one walk in his three starts against Atlanta. He pitched in a similar vein on Wednesday in Game 2, as he struck out five and walked one with four hits allowed in six innings of work. Even in the sixth, when the Braves put those three runs on the board, they never squared him up and instead did their damage with well-placed grounders that eluded the Philly infield defense. 

The Braves put together an unlikely big inning in the sixth

Speaking of which, the Braves may have salvaged the series with that bottom of the sixth. Five straight runners reached base with two outs, which is something the Braves managed to do just five times during the 162-game regular season. 

Wheeler retired the first two batters of the frame, but then Ronald Acuña Jr. reached when a pitch from Wheeler drilled him on his right elbow. Dansby Swanson then walked, and Matt Olson singled and plated Acuña on a pull-side grounder that first baseman Rhys Hoskins couldn't quite secure. Austin Riley kept with the theme, as he singled on a soft dribbler to Wheeler down the third-base line that scored Swanson. Finally, Travis d'Arnaud singled on a ground ball up the middle to bring Olson home with the third and final run of the game. That was margin enough for the Atlanta bullpen. 

Kyle Schwarber's struggles continue 

Schwarber during the regular season was a force for Philly, as he put up a 130 OPS+ and led the NL with 46 homers. These playoffs, however, have yet to be kind to him. He went 0 for 7 with four strikeouts in the Wild Card Series against St. Louis, and in Game 1 against the Braves he was 0 for 5 with a strikeout. Add in what he did in the Game 2 loss – 0 for 4 with three strikeouts – and he's now 0 for 16 with eight strikeouts in the 2022 postseason. Needles to say, the Phillies need their top slugger to find his level back at home. 

It's now basically a best-of-three series

With the series tied 1-1, this NLDS is now in essence a best-of-three affair with the Phillies' holding home-field advantage (Games 3 and 4 will be at Citizens' Bank Park, and Game 5, if necessary, will be back in suburban Atlanta). 

In Game 3 on Friday, Phillies co-ace Aaron Nola will go for the hosts opposite an Atlanta starter to be determined. The big question is whether rookie right-hander Spencer Strider will be able to make the start. He's on the Braves' NLDS roster after being out since mid-September with an oblique injury

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OK now it's over

Braves win 3-0 for real this time. Series heads back to Phillies tied 1-1.

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The game continues

Replay says the ball hit the net before the catch. Bryce Harper's at-bat continue. Would be something if the Phillies came back now.

October 13, 2022, 2:16 AM
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Wait wait, they say that foul pop up hit the net before d'Arnaud caught it for the final out. The game is not over yet.

October 13, 2022, 2:14 AM
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Braves win Game 2

3-0 is the final score. All three runs came in the sixth inning against Zack Wheeler, who was dominant in the first five innings. The best-of-five series is now tied 1-1 as it heads back to Phillies. Game 3 is Friday.

October 13, 2022, 2:13 AM
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Kenley in

Needs three outs before giving up three runs to send the series to Philadelphia tied 1-1.

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Braves three outs away from a Game 2 win

They still lead 3-0. Phillies on the verge of losing their first game this postseason.

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Incredible catch by Riley

Crashing into the tarp Nolan Arenado style. Amazing he held onto that ball. He snowconed it and then hit the tarp hard.

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Ozuna flies out to the warning track

That was an aggressively pimped fly out for Marcell Ozuna. He looks like an idiot and we get to laugh at him. I don't understand why people complain about hitters pimping non-homers.

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Wright finished after six

Six shutout innings on 83 pitches. AJ Minter is in against the middle of the lineup with Atlanta leading 3-0. Minter to Iglesias to Kenley would appear to be the formula the rest of the way.

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Make it five straight batters who've reached. d'Arnaud singles up the middle against his old batterymate with the Mets. It's 3-0 Braves.

October 13, 2022, 1:25 AM
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Riley adds on

With an infield single. Whatever works. It's 2-0 Braves. Still just one out in the sixth. Four straight batters have reached after only one of the first 18 reached against Wheeler.

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Braves break though

Olson's grounder eats up Hoskins at first base and goes into right for a single and a 1-0 lead. A Major League first baseman has to make that play, or at least keep it on the infield and prevent the runner from scoring.

October 13, 2022, 1:19 AM
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