ATLANTA — When a team cannot advance a runner to second base for 10 innings or muster an extra-base hit for 17 innings, it makes the whole thing feel lifeless. The Philadelphia Phillies are supposed to be enjoying a carefree summer while they cruise to the club’s first division title in 13 years. There would be lulls, sure, but not existential crises.
Every trip to Truist Park — no matter the standings — is a reminder of the ultimate target. The Phillies have had to conquer the Atlanta Braves in the last two seasons. They might meet again this October. It would be tremendous theater because these two teams do not like each other. There is mutual respect. Nothing more, nothing less.
So, when Orlando Arcia stared down Bryce Harper after a two-run homer in Atlanta’s 126th game of the season, maybe it triggered something. Probably not. Harper said he didn’t see it.
“I don’t care,” Harper said after the Phillies won 3-2 to reclaim a seven-game lead. “I couldn’t care less. I already did it.”
He did. Everyone remembers last October. Arcia had been waiting to return the favor; it took him eight games this season before he could trot around the bases against the Phillies.
“Atta boy, Harper!” made for great drama last October. But it’s not as if the Phillies needed added motivation during a taut playoff series.
Now? Well, a little nudge can’t hurt as the Phillies attempt to emerge from a malaise that has lingered for almost two months.
“Yeah, that’s gamesmanship,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “But we won.”
Orlando Arcia staring down Bryce Harper after his home run pic.twitter.com/0Y1pajOH6f
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 22, 2024
The Phillies needed it, although that is something that can be said about many wins this month. There have not been enough of them.
“I think every win’s important right now,” Aaron Nola said. “I feel like no lead is a big enough lead right now, especially with those guys over there. I mean, they’re always good.”
The Braves, even with a zombie lineup, will play the Phillies tough. And vice versa. It is a great rivalry for a reason. There was Whit Merrifield, released by the Phillies two months ago, at the plate for Atlanta in the ninth inning with the tying run on third base and winning run at second base. He hit a spinner that Harper smothered for the 27th out.
“I didn’t want to get Buckner’d for sure,” Harper said. “That was the big thing.”
Arcia added a layer to this rivalry last October when he clowned Harper following his base-running mistake that ended Game 2 of the National League Division Series. “Atta boy, Harper!” Arcia yelled loud enough for everyone in the Braves clubhouse to hear. He cackled.
After his stare Wednesday, Arcia played coy.
“I was just enjoying my home run,” Arcia said through a team interpreter.
Arcia added: “I can say what I want in here, and everyone can say what they want out there. Last year was last year. I feel like we’ve already turned the page. We’re focused on this year.”
So be it, although no one had a reason to talk about last year until Arcia shot Harper a glance. The Braves are trying to survive an unthinkable amount of injuries. The Phillies are trying to weather a long stretch of mediocrity.
They looked to, of all people, Johan Rojas and Weston Wilson when they needed big hits to beat Atlanta. Rojas ended the extra-base drought in the sixth inning with a scorched double against Max Fried, who had dominated the Phillies until then. The Phillies scored two runs on a ground out and a sacrifice fly.
The eventual winning run came in the eighth when Wilson, in the lineup because a lefty started against the Phillies, was permitted to bat against a righty reliever. It was a meaningful decision by Thomson. Wilson recognized it.
“I’ve faced righties this year, but it’s usually been earlier in the game,” Wilson said. “So for it to be in the eighth inning, obviously he had confidence in it. So that was kind of cool to see. Just trying to take advantage of opportunities that I get.”
Wilson took a fat 0-2 pitch from Joe Jimenez and drove it the other way for a double off the wall. He scored on a Brandon Marsh sacrifice fly.
Wilson, a 29-year-old rookie, has started 11 times this season. He is hitting 16-for-38 (.421) in those games with seven extra-base hits. The Phillies will face a righty starter, Spencer Schwellenbach, in the series finale Thursday. Wilson might be in the lineup, Thomson said.
“We’ll just have to see,” Thomson said. “The at-bats are so good that it’s hard to deny him.”
The spark has to come from somewhere.
“I feel like he just every time he’s in the lineup,” Harper said, “he puts the bat on the ball. Righty, lefty — I think he does a really good job. Also, it’s the way he swung the bat in the minor leagues this year. He puts together really good at-bats. He’s flat to the baseball. Just a really good player. He has to keep going. I think he’s going to be a really crucial part to this team.”
That remains to be seen. Austin Hays is expected to meet the Phillies in Kansas City on Friday to be activated. Thomson said he still views Hays as an everyday player. That would put Wilson on the bench, but he can be valuable there too.
The Phillies know they will need another rookie, Orion Kerkering, come October. He appeared in the eighth inning Wednesday to protect a one-run lead, and it was Kerkering’s biggest moment in weeks. The Phillies have bumped him down the bullpen depth chart. They have padded his outings with extra rest; it marked only the second time he’s pitched on back-to-back days since the All-Star break.
He threw 21 pitches Tuesday, then on Wednesday the Phillies asked him to face two lefties — Matt Olson and Jarred Kelenic. Lefties had an .802 OPS — almost 300 points higher than righties — against Kerkering.
He retired the side on 11 pitches.
“That was his best outing,” Thomson said. “I mean, he attacked tonight. That’s what we want him to do.”
Kerkering appreciated the chance.
“I think it was a good confidence boost for us, the team as a whole, and me a little bit too,” Kerkering said. “Important situation, no matter what it is, whether it’s the Braves or someone else. Just building confidence.”
Against the Braves, it always matters.
(Photo of Carlos Estevez and J.T. Realmuto: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)
