September 13, 2026
Brett Davis/Imagn Images via Reuters Connect
Bryce Harper's hit bat isn't nearly enough to beat the Braves.
The Phillies offense came to life late to win the finale of their three game series against the NL East leading Braves, but the damage had already been done.
Needing to win at least two of these games, if not sweep, to stay alive in the race for the division, the Phils were failed by — guess who? — their bullpen and a Jekyll and Hyde offense in their two losses.
Four series remain in the regular season, two of them easier (Nationals, Mets) and two tougher (Brewers, Rays). Before an off day and two more division rivals on the road, here are some winners and losers from this weekend in Atlanta:
Bryce Harper
The Phillies' offense was mind-numbingly inconsistent against the Braves, but it's not Harper's fault. He had two hits in the series opening 6-5 loss, hit a solo shot early in their 12-2 drubbing on Saturday and added two hits in the finale Sunday (and also scored one of the go-ahead runs). Harper continues to be one of the best overall hitters in baseball, with the fifth best on base percentage in MLB.
Aaron Nola
Amid the horror of the their series loss in Atlanta, the Phillies' favorite southern boy Aaron Nola has finally pitched himself out of his recent long slump. The righty went 6.1 innings, allowing two runs in the first game of the set and handed the ball off to the bullpen with the lead. We'll get into what happened next in just a bit. It wasn't Nola's fault.
On July 29, Nola had a 6.04 ERA after allowing eight runs to the Pirates. He's had 13 starts since, and has a 3.18 ERA in that span. Since July 28, it's 2.38. He's trending and peaking at the right time.
Andrew Painter
The same thing we just wrote about Nola can be said for Painter. He got through five innings of one-run baseball with 87 pitches before being pulled by manager Don Mattingly. Who seems to still trust the bullpen for some reason. The offense helped lift the pen on getaway day as the Phillies scored seven runs in the eighth to win 9-4 Sunday.
Painter was shaky in his last start, allowing 10 hits and five runs against the Astros. The start before that he threw seven shutout innings. It's nice to see bad starts sit as aberrations and not trends.
Philly's NL East chances
Even after salvaging the final game of the three-game set, the Phillies trail the Braves by five games with 12 left to play. The Braves own the season series 9-4, so they really trail by six. The odds of them overcoming that hurdle are incredibly slim and bordering on impossible. The Wild card is their ticket. They are fighting tooth and nail with the Cubs for the 4-seed, which is the top Wild Card spot and will host a three-game series to end September and start the postseason. The Padres and Diamondbacks are hot on their tail. It'll be a dramatic finish for sure.
The bullpen
During a season that has featured a shaky Phillies bullpen — at best — you'd be hard pressed to find back-to-back games with worse relief pitching than the first two games of this series in Atlanta. In the opener, after Nola's solid six-plus innings, the pen blew three saves in three innings in a game the Phillies desperately needed. Jonathan Bowlan, Chase Shugart and Brooks Raley each surrendered a lead the offense gave them respectively Saturday. Those aren't exactly the arms you want on the mound with the division on the line, but you'd think at least one of them could throw a clean inning.
Sunday was a little bit better, but far from stress free. Mattingly yanked Painter after five and in the seventh, José Alvarado gave up the tying run. Luckily a cavalcade of runs came in the eighth to earn him an undeserved win (even as Tanner Banks gave up a two-run garbage time home run to Matt Olsen.
Jesús Luzardo
Continuing our bullpen discussion, Luzardo — Game 2's probable starter — was a late scratch with shoulder soreness (which was examined and determined to be relatively minor) and forced the Phils to use their bullpen for the entire game Saturday. Opener Tim Mayza was solid in two innings but Raley gave up three runs, desperation call up Grant Holman gave up five while retiring one hitter, Orion Kerkering gave up one more and Garrett Stubbs surrendered three in garbage time.
The bullpen is in shambles, and the vibes aren't great as the Phillies are now stuck scratching and crawling for a Wild Card spot. Here's hoping their win Sunday with a day off to follow sets them straight with two weeks left.SIGN UP HERE to receive the PhillyVoice Sports newsletter
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