NL WILDCARD GAME: PHILLIES VS BRAVES

September 30, 2026

Bryce Harper

Alec Bohm

Truist Park

Philadelphia Phillies

Postgame Press Conference

Phillies 4, Braves 3 (10)

Q. Bryce, the defensive play in the seventh inning there, obviously you were upset. It seemed like you crouched down and were just standing in the infield. Were you thinking anything at this point?

BRYCE HARPER: I usually crouch down when there's a pitching change. Is that what you're talking about? I usually crouch down on a pitching change.

Obviously a world of emotion there. I didn't think he hit it very hard and I realized he only hit 89, so I thought it was going to be a pop fly just right at me and then it kind of kept traveling. Obviously a ball I should have caught.

Sanchy was throwing the crap out of it and we get that out right there and then we walk Albies and something else happens and they don't score. But you've got to flush it as quick as possible knowing that Lee is coming in the game. And obviously I was hearing it pretty good from Braves and Phillies fans in the dugout, so got to show up in that situation.

Kyle had a great at-bat, and then I wasn't not trying to hit a homer, I can tell you that. Go up there, hit the homer, 3-3. And then Painter comes in, absolute dawg mentality, closes the door for us, and Bohmer hits the homer against Fuentes right there.

Just a pick-me-up game for me, obviously my teammates picking me up in that situation, and that's what it's all about.

Q. Alec, did you know the home run was out? And two, how big of a moment was that for you?

ALEC BOHM: No, I didn't know it was gone until I heard it hit -- kind of rattle against the fence above the wall.

Yeah, not really sure what happened or how it happened, but yeah, it was obviously just a huge moment for us to take the lead and stay alive, keep our season alive, and give us a chance to close out the game and get to tomorrow.

Q. Bryce, you probably know better than anybody else everything Alec has been through since he came up in this organization. You know the pressures on a very high draft pick. How good do you feel for him right now in this moment, and can you sort of encapsulate sort of what he's become?

BRYCE HARPER: Yeah, man, I'm proud of him. He's been through the wringer this year, on and off the field. No person or player or anybody should have to go through those situations.

This team, we're so close. We're more close throughout the year than we are to our wives and our kids. We travel around, we're with each other more. I played with him for a long time, and for him to have that moment, obviously in that situation, I'm super proud of him, super happy for him.

It just goes to show, it doesn't matter what happens during the year, what your numbers look like or anything else. It's what have you done for me lately. Today he's one of the best players and probably one of the favorites in Philadelphia right now.

Q. Alec, can you talk about your journey from being a guy who didn't really want to be in Philadelphia at one point to a guy who's probably the most popular person in Philadelphia right now?

ALEC BOHM: Yeah, I mean, obviously there's been a lot of ups and downs. Didn't start the best. I don't really know how to put it all into words quickly, but it's just been a long road with a lot of ups and downs. I've learned a lot, and I've made a lot of really close friends along the way and had a lot of people to lean on along the way.

I really wouldn't have rather had it any other way.

Q. Alec, to follow up on that, you've had kind of just this really major turnaround. What's the message going into tomorrow's game knowing that it's on the line again?

ALEC BOHM: Yeah, I mean, same as today. Just win a game. I think today was a really -- just kind of like emotional, a lot of swings in the game. So I think as much as we want to enjoy this for a little bit, it's the same as we did yesterday. Turn the page and move on to tomorrow and show up ready to do the same thing tomorrow.

Q. Alec, you're obviously an impending free agent. How much is knowing this could be your last playoff games with this group been in the back of your mind over the past month into the postseason?

ALEC BOHM: Yeah, I've been trying not to think about that. I really, really don't want this year to end. I know everybody in that clubhouse is going to show up and do everything we can to win a game tomorrow, and that's really the only thing on my mind.

Q. Bryce, Atlanta fans have been booing you since you came out of the airport basically, but at the end of the day, does that fire you up a little bit?

BRYCE HARPER: Man, it's been the same since Turner Field. It's been the same for 14, 15 years. Everywhere I go they're booing me.

I love playing here. I love coming to play here. I love hitting in this ballpark. It's one of my favorite parks in the league. They love their team, and I expect them to do what they do.

No hard feelings towards them or anything else. They're a great fan base. They love their team. But I get it everywhere, not just Atlanta. I get it from here to Philly too, so it's all good.

Q. Bryce, you talked about being able to flush a rough play. A lot of baseball players talk about it as though it's easy, but I can imagine it's really difficult, even years of gaining such mental discipline. Can you walk us through your thought process after you weren't able to catch that ball, then there's a time-out. Walk us how you were actually able to flush it and go into the next at-bat.

BRYCE HARPER: I'll tell you what, I was thinking about Krew, my son, what I would say to him in that situation. I think it's a learning situation not for myself but everybody else as well.

I think you try to flush it as quick as possible. I grew up playing in a lot of big games. I've said it in the past about the postseason. Playing huge games that people are counting on you from the time you are 10 years old all the way until now, I don't think people understand what that feels like or looks like. Because when you guys were 10 years old, you probably weren't playing in front of 3,000 people yelling and screaming at you, wondering why you're not the player you want to be or anything else.

I've been through a lot of situations to get me to this point. You make a play like that, and I'm hearing it out there, obviously.

But how quickly can I turn the page and just get past that moment, knowing that I'm still coming up to the plate to hit and knowing that in the postseason, it doesn't matter what you did the at-bat before, the inning before. It's what you do in that moment.

For me, everybody is going to make mistakes at some point, but it's how you come through in the next situation. It's not that serious, to tell you the truth. I think people take it very seriously -- and don't get me wrong, I take it serious. But I think there's a mindset, especially for kids nowadays, is parents and coaches put so much on kids these days to have to come through and be great.

But for me, it's how can you learn from each situation that you're in to come out great in the next one.

Q. Bryce, you talked about playing in Atlanta, how you like playing in Atlanta. You've been a part of this rivalry for a while. How fitting is it for this series to go to elimination, and both of these games have been so close like it's been?

BRYCE HARPER: Yeah, we pretty much played an elimination game on Sunday in Philly. For us, trying to come in here and win these games obviously is a tough place to play. It's a great team over there. They've played great at home. But again, I'll just talk about the postseason; it's just a different animal. Trying to come in and win each game, understanding that's the biggest game of the year in that situation.

But it's always fun coming in here. I love playing against those guys over there. I've got a lot of respect for them and the way they go about it. This organization as well. Anthopoulos does a great job with that team and he always pushes the right buttons in the offseason, I swear. He always gets a guy. I've got a lot of respect for Walt Weiss as well and Snitker when he was over there.

I love coming in here, playing against those guys. It's a great atmosphere every time we come in here. It's always fun.

Q. Bryce, you shouted out Painter, mentioned kind of the dawg mentality. What impressed you most about a rookie in his first real relief appearance in that spot going out and doing what he did?

BRYCE HARPER: Yeah, I saw him throw out a ball in the Harris at-bat maybe -- no, it was the Dom Smith at-bat. But I saw him kind of take a moment after that hit against Harris and step back on the mound, grab the rosin bag, throw the ball out, and he was trying to slow down the game. I thought he was, I think, in that situation.

It kind of fired me up because he was able to slow down the moment and slow down the opportunity to be right there. And what a great two pitches right there. I bring this up too because you're sitting there, you're 0-2 and then you throw a heater down that paints, and we have the ABS. You think about not having the ABS in that situation, anything can happen the next pitch. He throws a sweeper, base knock, they score.

For me, J. T. is so good back there with the ABS, and having the ABS was huge for us in that situation, and Paint coming in there. And like I said, just an absolute dawg in that situation, so it was awesome to see.