The Braves finally changed the script on Thursday night.
For the first time in postseason history, Atlanta knocked off the Phillies, rolling to a 6-2 win in a winner-take-all Game 3 and punching its ticket to the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Before this one, Philadelphia had owned the matchup in October, going 3-0 all-time and sending the Braves home in both 2022 and 2023 after Atlanta had stacked 100-plus win seasons.
That history mattered right up until it didn’t. Once the first inning settled in, the Braves took control and never let it slip.
Michael Harris gave Atlanta the early jolt with a three-run homer in the bottom of the first, putting the Braves ahead 3-0 and immediately flipping the mood. But the opening frame was also shaped by Ray Kerr, who made the first postseason appearance of his career and was used as an opener. He didn’t get the win, but he delivered an outstanding start and set the tone before the lineup broke the game open.
The result also snapped a long drought in another huge spot. Atlanta’s win was its first in a winner-take-all game since Game 7 of the 1996 NLCS. In a strange bit of symmetry, both that 1996 victory and Thursday’s game were powered by three home runs - Andruw Jones, Fred McGriff and Javy Lopez in 1996, and Michael Harris, Matt Olson and Ozzie Albies on Thursday.
Philadelphia, meanwhile, kept carrying a painful streak. The Phillies have not won a winner-take-all game since the 1980 postseason.
Now the Braves move on to a heavyweight NLDS matchup with the Dodgers, the back-to-back World Series champions. The last time these teams met in the postseason was the 2021 NLCS, when Atlanta won the series 4-2 en route to a World Series title.
In Other News...
Braves Fans Had To Love How Fast This Phillies Jinx Backfired
The broadcast booth did Atlanta a favor in Game 3 of the National League wild-card series, even if not by design. Joey Votto, in his first season as an in-game analyst after a long run as a player, suggested the Braves would not score again, only for Atlanta to answer with two runs later in the inning and turn the prediction into instant bulletin-board material.
For Braves fans, it was the kind of jinx that aged badly almost immediately and made for a small but satisfying subplot in a tense postseason game. Vottos stint in the role is limited to the wild-card round, since NBC does not have rights beyond that stage, so the misfire came in a brief audition that the Braves and their supporters will remember for the wrong reason. [Read more 🡒]
Braves May Have Created A Huge Chris Sale Problem Before Dodgers Series
Chris Sale gave the Braves exactly the kind of punch they needed in Game 3, even if it came in an unusual spot. After being lined up to start Game 2 and having already thrown 95 pitches two days earlier, Sale volunteered to come out of the bullpen and delivered 1 sharp innings in relief, striking out Bryce Harper and Otto Lopez as Atlanta grabbed the postseason win over the Phillies.
The immediate reward was obvious, but the longer-term cost is now part of the conversation as the Division Series shifts to the Dodgers. Walt Weiss said Sale stepped up when the Braves needed him, and that kind of flexibility matters in October, yet it also raises a real question about what he has left if Atlanta needs him again soon in a much bigger series. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Catch A Huge NLDS Break As Braves Rotation Thins
The Braves pitching plan took a hit before the National League Division Series even got underway, with Martn Prez landing on the 15-day injured list because of lower back inflammation. Manager Walt Weiss said Prez will not be available against the Dodgers, though there is still a chance he could return if Atlanta keeps moving into the NLCS. For a rotation already needing to cover a lot of ground in October, losing a veteran arm at this stage changes the shape of the series.
Atlanta will have to piece together innings with other options, including AJ Smith-Shawver and JR Ritchie, and that puts even more pressure on a staff trying to navigate one of the postseasons toughest lineups. The Dodgers were already a demanding matchup, and now the Braves have to find a way through it without one of the pitchers they were counting on to help steady the middle of games. [Read more 🡒]