The Phillies had Game 1 right there in their hands, then watched it slip away late.
Philadelphia opened the Wild Card Round with a fast start against Chris Sale, cashing in in the first inning when Alec Bohm came through with a two-out RBI double. Bohm, one of the few Phillies who had handled the veteran lefty well entering the night, set the tone early and gave Philadelphia the first punch in a tight division showdown.
Atlanta answered in the second. Mike Yastrzemski drove in the tying run, an unexpected name in the lineup against Jesus Luzardo, and the Braves were quickly right back in it.
Luzardo allowed that run, but he also gave Philadelphia five innings, which mattered plenty after he had thrown just four pitches in Sunday’s series finale. For the Phillies, that was a huge lift.
The real trouble came after that, once the game turned over to Alex McFarlane for his postseason debut. Michael Harris got a hit to start the sequence, and then Ozzie Albies sent a ball into the gap for an RBI triple that bounced off Derek Hill’s wrist as he tried to make the play in center field. Suddenly, Atlanta had seized control.
Philadelphia still found a way to punch back in the seventh. With runners on the corners and one out, the Phillies forced Sale out of the game.
Justin Crawford pinch-hit and flew out to center, but J.T. Realmuto kept the inning alive in a big way.
The veteran catcher, who had been scuffling badly down the stretch, lined a two-out triple to the opposite field and drove in two runs to put the Phillies ahead 3-2.
That lead didn’t last.
Don Mattingly turned to Jhoan Duran early in the bottom of the seventh with Ronald Acuna and the top of the Braves’ order looming, and the move made sense. Duran handled the seventh without issue, but the eighth turned ugly.
With two runners aboard, Austin Riley launched a go-ahead three-run homer that flipped the game to Atlanta and made it 5-3. The Phillies couldn’t mount a response in the ninth, and Riley’s blast stood as the deciding blow.
Now Philadelphia heads into Game 2 in a must-win spot, with Cristopher Sanchez expected to start as the Phillies try to put this loss behind them quickly.
In Other News...
Braves Roster Choice Just Changed This Phillies Wild Card Matchup
The Braves made their Wild Card Series roster move with the kind of caution that usually comes with October baseball, adding Luke Williams and Rowdy Tellez from Gwinnett while carrying 11 pitchers into the short series. It is a setup that says plenty about how Atlanta expects to play this round, with a roster built around starting pitching and selective use of the bench rather than a long, rolling relief plan.
For the Phillies, the opponents roster construction matters because it shapes how the matchup may unfold from the first game on. Atlanta is also expected to be without Martin Perez and Lane Thomas because of injuries, which trims some of the depth the Braves would normally lean on in a tight playoff series. The result is a familiar October tension for Philadelphia, one where the numbers on the roster card may matter almost as much as the names in the lineup. [Read more 🡒]
Phillies Face Immediate Pressure After Game 1 Gamble Backfires
Jess Luzardo gave the Phillies a chance to settle in, working well enough to keep the opener tight against Atlanta before the game turned on a sequence the club cant afford to relive. Don Mattingly chose to lean hard on Jhoan Duran in Game 1 of the Wild Card Round, asking the closer to cover multiple innings in a high-stakes spot, and the decision looked viable until the game unraveled around a defensive misplay by Trea Turner and the hits that followed.
Austin Rileys game-winning home run finished the Braves comeback and left Philadelphia with an urgent problem as the series shifts forward. Now the Phillies have to win two straight to keep moving, and they may have to do it with Duran either unavailable or not fully right for Game 2, which puts even more pressure on a roster that already spent its best late-game weapon in a night that got away. [Read more 🡒]
Walt Weiss Sends A Clear Message Before Braves Phillies Showdown
The Braves finally locked up the NL East and punched their ticket to the postseason, then celebrated the division win after beating the Astros. It was a familiar kind of finish for a club that has spent the summer chasing another first-place finish, and it sets up a quick turnaround as the Wild Card Series opens Tuesday afternoon.
For Philadelphia, the timing adds another layer to a rivalry that already carries plenty of October weight. Walt Weiss made clear his team is not interested in worrying about the start time or the opponent, only about being ready when the next round begins. However the bracket settles, the Braves have put themselves in position to keep playing, and the Phillies now know the path ahead includes a division rival that sounds prepared for anything. [Read more 🡒]