Phillies should be glad to get a split despite Zack Wheeler’s loss in Game 2 of the NLDS

ATLANTA — You’re greedy. We get it.

You wanted this thing over in three games. You wanted Aaron Nola to lock it down Friday night. And you figured if anything was a sure thing in this crazy Phillies season, a Game 2 win was in the bag. Wheels was on the hill, the Phils had won three straight, and, dammit, it’s 11 long years.

You knew it, in your bones, that Phillies ace Zack Wheeler was going to outpitch Braves 21-game winner Kyle Wright.

We get it. It didn’t happen. The Phillies lost, 3-0, and they deserved to lose. They still can make Game 2 the last game played at Truist Park this season. They might need a gem from Nola on Friday, and they might need Kyle Gibson to resurrect himself Saturday, but Wednesday can be the last time anybody hears that racist Tomahawk Chop chant in 2022.

Nevertheless, they come back to Philly after a 14-game, 17-day road trip trip the likes of which they hadn’t seen in 19 years. They spent the night in Atlanta, will fly home Thursday morning, maybe work out. Maybe take naps. Maybe bowl. It’s been a journey.

The road saw them clinch the No. 6 seed, a wild-card spot, in Houston; sweep St. Louis in two games behind Wheels and Noles; then, somehow, win Game 1 with Ranger Suárez getting 10 outs, the ballclub getting no home runs, and pseudo-closer Zach Eflin getting clobbered in the ninth.

They return to Philly having split the first two games of a best-of-five series against the No. 2 seed in the National League. Could be much worse; they won Game 1 by the grace of Nick Castellanos’ unexpected offensive eruption and his completely unforeseeable defensive prowess.

Yes, you read that right.

» READ MORE: Nick Castellanos delivers with bat and glove as Phillies hang on to beat Braves, 7-6, in Game 1 of the NLDS

“We’d rather be 2-0, right? But 1-1 takes home-field advantage away from them,” said Bryce Harper, who was stranded at third after he led off the second inning with a double. “All of us are excited to get home and play in front of the great fan base that we have. We know they’re going to show out for us on Friday and Saturday.”

Those fans haven’t seen playoff baseball in more than a decade; or since Rhys Hoskins was a freshman in college. He’s been the voice of the team since 2017, and he’s never played a home playoff game. He botched a grounder in the fateful sixth, but that didn’t dampen the thrill of what’s to come.

“It’s gonna be electric,” Hoskins said.

The Phillies now have home-field advantage in a best-of-three series.

So swallow hard, relax, and rejoice.

You wanted a big-time start like he gave you in Game 1 of the wild-card series, when Wheeler went 6⅔ shutout innings. You almost got it. He’s the Phillies’ best pitcher since Roy Halladay, but no, he didn’t deliver a superhero start in Game 2 of the National League Division Series. He didn’t pitch like the $118 million man for a change. Still, he was amazing for 17 outs, then he was human for 20 minutes.

That’s all a championship team like the Atlanta Braves needs, especially at home. The Braves won 101 games, brought home their fifth consecutive National League East title, earned a first-round bye, and began the defense of the World Series title by beating pitchers like Wheeler. It’s what great teams do. The Braves are, and have been, a great team.

Coming home tied isn’t optimal, or even satisfactory. But it is realistic.

Perhaps it wouldn’t feel so disappointing if the Braves had done what the Braves usually do. Like, if they’d ripped a double, then crushed a couple of homers — that would be easier to swallow.

They hit 243 home runs this season, and that was second in the majors, and that probably would’ve been first if Aaron Judge was human. How you gonna keep these bashers in the park? Even Wheeler got touched three times in his three starts against the Braves this year.

Wheeler didn’t get touched Wednesday night. Not that way, anyway.

The Braves didn’t bash. They slinked — slinked into three milquetoast, two-out runs in a Buckhead-ugly sixth inning.

Wheeler hit Ronald Acuña Jr. on the elbow with the first pitch of his at-bat.

Acuña needed several minutes of massage and counseling before he finally trotted to first base. It’s like he was trying to draw a yellow card.

The entirety of the 42,735 booed Wheeler without mercy; well, maybe the three dozen Phillies fans in attendance held out, but you cant be sure. Maybe that delay, and that derision, that moment, rattled Wheeler. Maybe just hitting Acuña with a wild two-seam fastball unbalanced him.

“After that pitch, I don’t know,” Wheeler said.

Question: “Do you think that [sequence] threw you off your rhyth....”

“Not at all,” Wheeler snapped, hands on hips.

Ooooh ... Kay.

He wasn’t the same pitcher after hitting Acuña.

He issued a baffling, six-pitch walk to Dansby Swanson. Swanson had been 6-for-39 against Wheeler, including a strikeout and a fly-out in his two previous at-bats. None of the pitches called balls was especially close to the strike zone.

Wheeler went slider-slider, hung the second one, and Matt Olson snapped a hard single off the glove of first baseman Hoskins to score Acuña.

About that: If you think Hoskins should’ve had that ball, well, you haven’t watched ol’ Hoss stumble around the bag the last six seasons. He’s here for his 30-homer seasons, one of which he just had. The closest Hoskins is ever going to get to a Gold Glove is if he stands real close to J.T. Realmuto.

“It’s a play I’ve made before,” he said. Occasionally. “It’s a play I’ll make again.” Perhaps. “I just didn’t make it tonight.” To no one’s surprise.

Anyway, Wheeler, now really rattled, fired two balls to Austin Riley, which prompted Realmuto to trot out to and calm him. Didn’t work. Riley singled and scored Swanson, Travis d’Arnaud singled and scored Olson, and it was 3-0 when Michael Harris grounded out.

With Wright having dealt six scoreless innings already, his night done, three was plenty; he gave up two hits, which means he gave up a total of 10 hits in four starts against the Phillies this year, and his ERA against the Phils fell to 2.16.

For a team that had seen playoff baseball six times since the Phillies last got in, three runs after 18 outs was more than enough.