Braves take Game 1 vs. Phillies behind Austin Riley’s late heroics
Austin Riley slugged a go-ahead three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning, leading the Braves to a 5-3 victory over the Phillies in Game 1 of the Wild Card series on Tuesday.
It was a back-and-forth affair in which the Phillies grabbed the lead in the first inning. The Braves tied it in the second inning and moved ahead in the sixth before J.T. Realmuto delivered a go-ahead two-run triple for Philadelphia in the seventh.
Chris Sale had the longest postseason start of his career, pitching 6 1/3 innings while being charged with three runs. Despite not making a start since September 7 due to shoulder inflammation, Jesús Luzardo was able to post five innings of one-run ball.
Between that, Realmuto’s two-run triple, and the ball in the hands of their closer in Jhoan Duran, Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly had everything set up the way they wanted in order to steal Game 1. However, Riley washed away his regular season struggles with his clutch go-ahead blast.
Braves closer Raisel Iglesias gave up a leadoff single to Brandon Marsh in the top of the ninth inning, but he was quickly erased on a double play grounder before Bryson Stott flew out to end it.
In this new Wild Card format, 15 out of the 16 teams who have won Game 1 have gone on to advance. This was a game the Braves needed to win with their ace on the mound. And while it didn’t exactly go down as expected, they were able to get the job done.
This series is still far from over, though, as Cristopher Sanchez will get the ball in Game 2 for Philadelphia on Wednesday. Tyler Mahle is expected to get the start for Atlanta.