The Phillies had Game 1 right there in Atlanta, and for a while it looked like they were going to steal the opener of the Wild Card series on the road. Instead, one swing from Austin Riley flipped everything and sent Philadelphia to a 5-3 loss after it carried a 3-2 lead into the eighth inning.
It was the kind of postseason game where every little thing mattered. Chris Sale and Jesus Luzardo made sure of that from the start, and runs were hard to come by all night. The Phillies did grab the first punch when Alec Bohm kept his strong work against Sale going in the opening inning, lining a ball over Michael Harris’ head to bring home Kyle Schwarber from first and make it 1-0.
Sale and Luzardo settled into the kind of game where one mistake could change the whole night. The Phillies played the infield in in the second, Michael Harris II laid down a sacrifice bunt in the same inning, and Trea Turner tried to take an extra base later only to get picked off.
Austin Riley then tapped a ball back to Luzardo, and after Luzardo went to third, Mike Yastrzemski singled on the next pitch to tie it 1-1. There was a chance for a cleaner ending to that inning if Luzardo had gone to second, but he didn’t, and the Braves were right back in it.
Luzardo wasn’t just going to be an opener, no matter how Don Mattingly framed it before the game. He gave the Phillies five innings of one-run ball and kept battling even without perfect control. His off-speed stuff was strong, and he held up well enough to give Philadelphia a chance.
The Braves nudged ahead in the sixth against Alex McFarlane. He opened that inning by striking out Mauricio Dubon with a 101.1 mph fastball, but Michael Harris II singled and Ozzie Albies followed with a drive to the center-field wall. Derek Hill went up at the top of the wall to try to bring it back, but the ball hit him in the wrist and bounced away, putting Atlanta in front 2-1.
Philadelphia answered in the seventh, and the swing came from an unlikely place. J.T.
Realmuto, who had gone hitless in 34 at-bats just four days earlier, came through with runners on the corners and two outs, ripping a triple down the right-field line to score Bryan De La Cruz and Bryson Stott all the way from first. Suddenly the Phillies were back on top, 3-2.
That lead only lasted until the eighth. Mattingly went to Jhoan Duran with the Braves’ 9-1-2 hitters due up, and it was the earliest he has ever pitched in a Major League Baseball game.
Duran worked through the seventh and got two big outs to Baldwin and Acuna, but after five outs he ran into trouble in the eighth. With two outs and two runners on, Austin Riley stepped in and crushed a middle-middle fastball for a go-ahead three-run homer.
Just like that, Atlanta had the game.
Riley’s regular season numbers were nothing special by his standards - .219 with a .654 OPS and 19 homers - but this was the kind of moment that always seems to find him. The Braves’ 5-3 win put them in control of the series, and the Phillies now face a must-win Game 2 on Wednesday afternoon with Cristopher Sanchez set to start against Tyler Mahle.
The bigger-picture numbers only add to the sting. Teams that win Game 1 of a Wild Card series have gone on to win 15 of 16 times.
For the Phillies, that makes the Riley homer feel even heavier. It also leaves a clear question about the roster construction, because Duran having to cover more than six outs was already asking a lot, and the bullpen arm they could have used most wasn’t even available on the roster.
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 🡒]