WATCH: Bryce Harper takes a very long time to round the bases in Atlanta

In the middle of an ugly 12-2 blowout loss to the Braves on Saturday, there was one moment worth noting, I guess. It came courtesy of Bryce Harper deciding to have a little fun at Atlanta’s expense. Harper smashed a solo homer to center in the first inning, the Phillies’ only lead of the night, and then proceeded to take his sweet, sweet time getting around the basesv and I mean SWEET time.

Bryce Harper rounded the bases in a leisurely 34.27 seconds. To put that in perspective, it was his longest trot on an undisputed homer since Statcast started tracking them in 2015. Not just his slowest of the year, his slowest EVER. It was also the longest trot on an undisputed homer by any Phillie in that entire span.

The man was basically out for a stroll.

Bryce Harper Slow Trot

The Braves broadcast did not appreciate Bryce Harper’s slow home run trot 😂

(Via @luzthegoosey) pic.twitter.com/Ee5Rbcc6SS

— OnPattison (@OnPattison) September 12, 2026

The Rest of the Night Was Brutal

Now for the bad news, because there’s plenty of it. That solo homer was the Phillies’ only lead in a game they badly needed to win, and it fell apart in a hurry. The Phillies scratched Jesus Luzardo before the game with a sore left shoulder, though thankfully an MRI on Friday revealed no structural damage, just inflammation.

Luzardo and the team are hopeful he can pitch next week, and given how important he is, that’s the most crucial takeaway from the entire night. Get that man healthy.

Phillies embarrassed in 12-2 loss to the Braves >>

That scratch turned it into a bullpen game, and after Tim Mayza opened with three scoreless, Brooks Raley and Grant Holman got shelled for eight runs in the fourth to blow it open. Acuna, naturally, homered in that eight-run frame, because of course he did.

He’s been an absolute Phillies killer, batting .478 with three homers and eight RBIs against them since the start of last week’s series. The man simply cannot be stopped when he sees red pinstripes.

Time to Focus on the Wild Card

The Phillies are now six games behind the Braves in the NL East with 13 to play, and since Atlanta has clinched the tiebreaker, the division is essentially gone. If the Braves go just 6-7 the rest of the way, the Phillies would have to go 13-0 to catch them. So let’s be honest with ourselves: the division race is over. It’s time to lock in on the Wild Card.

The Phillies (82-67) sit one game behind the Cubs for the top Wild Card spot, but they’re also only 1.5 games ahead of the Padres for the No. 2 spot. If the season ended Saturday, the Cubs would host the Phillies at Wrigley.

If the Padres pass the Phillies and Philly falls to the No. 3 Wild Card, the division winner with the worst record, currently the Braves, would host them.

The Phillies right back at Truist Park in a couple weeks for a Wild Card Series. After the way Atlanta has owned them this year, that’s a nightmare matchup, and it’s a very real possibility if the Phillies don’t take care of business.

The Bryce Harper trot was a genuinely great moment, a little spark of defiance and personality in a rivalry that’s been decidedly one-sided this year. I loved it but the Phillies can’t rely on petty base-trotting to win games. They need the bats to wake up and the pitching to stabilize, because the Wild Card race is real and the seeding matters enormously.

The division’s gone. So be it. Now it’s about locking down the best Wild Card position possible and avoiding a first-round trip back to Atlanta, where this season has already gone to die more than once. Focus up, take care of business over these final 13, and let’s get into October in the best spot possible.

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