Red September Magic Teased, Taken Away In Phillies Wild Card Loss

ATLANTA, GA — They're too old. They can't hit. They're too inconsistent. They're gassed from a frantic final week. They're haunted by autumns past. None of the doubts and doomers registered so loud as the silencing crack off J.T. Realmuto's bat in the top of the seventh inning Tuesday, as the 35 year old catcher ripped a two run triple the opposite way to give the Phillies a 3-2 lead.

The Phillies dugout erupted. Don Mattingly took it as a sign from the heavens and Jhoan Duran was brought in for the bottom of the seventh to secure a three inning save.

For twenty minutes of suspended breath, Red October magic suspired on the air. Duran, so long associated with the inevitable, a being of fate this year as sure as anyone since Mariano Rivera, felled the chopping hordes. Three up three down in the seventh. Two up and two down in the eighth. ¡Atención, chismosos!

But the baseball gods giveth, and the baseball gods taketh away. With two outs, a dribbling tap of a ground ball from Atlanta's Michael Harris, a result so often evoked by Duran's physics-bending splitter, was just slightly too slow for Trea Turner to field in time. He rushed the throw and missed anyway. Harris was safe at first, Ozzie Albies was hit by a pitch, and Austin Riley ripped a three run home run off the brick in right field. 5-3 Braves.

It had been a match of film noir blinding sun and long afternoon shadows that cast the roof canopy shapes of Truist Park onto the green grass.

For some two hours and five innings of tense matinee, aces Chris Sale and Jesus Luzardo traded untouchable brushstrokes.

Sale's gangling southern paw reached 101 miles per hour on his four seam fastball in the first inning. It's harder than he's thrown in his entire life. He struck out seven batters, including Bryce Harper three times.

Harper towered a fly ball into the upper deck in right field on that third at bat. He stood at home plate watching it fly, knees bent, head arced to the side and muttering something as if to incant the ball fair.

It missed the foul pole by less than a foot.

Kyle Schwarber was on first, and those would've been the two runs needed to keep the game tied later.

Zeus, who hasn't thrown a full game in 22 days due to shoulder inflammation, was hitting 99 on his fastball in the fist. He struck out six Braves, most of them swinging wildly at a running sweeper no where near their bats. Before the game, analysts wondered if he'd throw more than one inning. He gave the Phils five innings of one run, three hit ball.

All is not lost. Philly will turn to Cristopher Sanchez on regular rest Wednesday afternoon, and they have Zack Wheeler in the bank Thursday. They won two consecutive games in this very straightforward way of dominant starting pitching countless times this season. All the Fightins need is once more twice.

Talking bout the Fightins, the Fightins.