Phillies Ace Ties Franchise Postseason Record in Heartbreaking Loss

The Philadelphia Phillies saw one of the best postseason pitching performances from their ace in Game 2 of the NLDS. That was overshadowed by a heartbreaking loss that evened the series at one game apiece.

It looked like the Philadelphia Phillies were cruising on their way to a 2-0 lead in the NLDS against their rival Atlanta Braves.

They got off to a great start against Max Fried, scoring a run in the top of the first inning.

The Phillies ultimately chased Fried out of the game four innings into the game after they scored three runs off the left hander.

Philadelphia's ace Zack Wheeler was winning the pitching duel, throwing a ho-hitter through five innings.

He had everything working, shutting down one of the best offenses in baseball history on his way to tying a Phillies' postseason record of 10 strikeouts.

With Philadelphia up 4-0 and their ace pitching a gem, it seemed like the Phillies would coast to victory.

Then the Braves scored a run in the sixth inning on their first hit of the game after Ozzie Albies singled and Ronald Acuna Jr. scored on an error after being walked the batter prior.

One inning later, Wheeler hung a breaking ball and Travis d'Arnaud hit a two-run homer to make the it 4-3.

"It’s frustrating. I kind of let them get momentum going. That’s my fault. I let them back in the game," the right hander said after the game.

His incredible pitching performance was overshadowed by Atlanta completely the comeback for a 5-4 victory after a late home run from Austin Riley and a wild game ending double play.

There were questions about why manager Rob Thomson put Wheeler back out there for the seventh inning.

According to them, it was the ace who wanted to go back out there and there was no discussion about making a move to the bullpen.

Ultimately, the franchise record tying performance wasn't enough to get the job done and Philadelphia lost a game they were in complete control of for the majority of the time.