ATLANTA — Michael Harris II delivered the hometown moment he envisioned as a kid, launching a three-run homer to stake the Atlanta Braves to an early 3-0 lead over the Philadelphia Phillies in the first inning of Game 3 of the NL Wild Card Series on Thursday night at Truist Park. The winner-take-all matchup on NBC/Peacock opened with the Braves center fielder golfing a pitch well below the zone for immediate momentum.
Veteran righty Aaron Nola struggled to find the zone, walking Ronald Acuña Jr. and Matt Olson on five pitches apiece before falling behind Harris 2-0 and prompting a mound visit from catcher J.T. Realmuto. Harris pounced on the next offering, turning on a 2-0 sinker and roping a 100.5 mph line drive that right fielder Bryce Harper tracked to the wall before watching it narrowly clear the brick wall in right-center field. "He got behind in the count, 2-0, took a mound visit, I know they were trying to get a strike there," Harris said on the NBC broadcast. "Ball was a little low, but I was just trying to hit it out. I did it."
A little low was an understatement. The pitch was just 1.11 feet off the ground, the lowest of Harris' 101 career homers including the postseason and the third-lowest pitch hit for a postseason homer since tracking began in 2008. The blast continued a resurgent regular season for the Atlanta-area native and 2019 third-round Draft pick, who slashed .294/.321/.491 with a career-high 26 home runs and an .812 OPS after posting a career-low .677 OPS in 2025.
Harris also played a central role in Atlanta's Game 1 victory, going 3-for-3 with two runs and a sacrifice bunt, with his two-out infield single in the eighth inning sparking the decisive rally capped by Austin Riley's game-winning three-run homer. The early strike against Nola gave Atlanta immediate control in the finale that follows Phillies and Braves Set for Decisive Wild Card Game 3 in Atlanta, with the winner advancing from the Wild Card Series.