The Atlanta Braves erupted for three runs in the eighth inning to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 in Game 1, grabbing the early cushion in their best-of-three wild-card series. What comes next for the Braves after the win, and when is Atlanta’s next game?
Atlanta entered the series as the reigning NL East champion, while Philadelphia survived until the regular season’s final day to claim the final NL wild-card spot.
Game 2 is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 2 p.m. ET at Truist Park, airing on NBC and Peacock, along with fubo and other live-TV packages. The Braves will, of course, once again take on the Phillies with a chance to close out the best-of-three wild-card series and move on to the National League Division Series, where they would face the defending back-to-back World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
The NLDS is set to open Oct. 3 at Dodger Stadium, whether the Braves or the Phillies turn out to be the opponent. Unlike the wild-card series in which all games take place in one location, the best-of-five NLDS would shift to Truist Park — or Citizens Bank Park, if the Phillies come back to win the wild-card series — after Game 2.
| NL WILD CARD GAME 1 — PHILLIES @ BRAVES | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Truist Park, Atlanta, GA • Braves lead series 1-0 |
| LINE SCORE | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |||
| Phillies (0-1) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | |||
| Braves (1-0) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | X | 5 | 7 | 0 | |||
| PHILLIES HITTERS | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Pos | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | OPS | |
| T. Turner | SS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .240 | .672 | |
| K. Schwarber | DH | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .231 | .853 | |
| B. Harper | RF-1B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .267 | .858 | |
| A. Bohm | 1B-3B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .250 | .698 | |
| D. Hill | CF-RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .238 | .723 | |
| b-B. Marsh | PH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .262 | .718 | |
| B. De La Cruz | LF | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .269 | .742 | |
| B. Stott | 2B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .251 | .722 | |
| E. Sosa | 3B | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .245 | .696 | |
| a-J. Crawford | PH-CF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .263 | .662 | |
| J. Realmuto | C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .206 | .617 | |
| Total | 31 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 10 | — | — | ||
| a-flied out for Sosa in the 7th; b-singled for Hill in the 9th | ||||||||||
| BRAVES HITTERS | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Pos | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | OPS | |
| D. Baldwin | C | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .282 | .811 | |
| R. Acuna Jr. | RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .253 | .792 | |
| M. Olson | 1B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .250 | .821 | |
| M. Dubon | LF-SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .274 | .713 | |
| M. Harris II | CF | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .298 | .818 | |
| O. Albies | 2B | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .239 | .693 | |
| A. Riley | 3B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | .221 | .663 | |
| M. Yastrzemski | DH-LF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .227 | .694 | |
| H. Kim | SS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .116 | .348 | |
| a-D. Smith | PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .254 | .696 | |
| B. Hicklen | LF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | .257 | .400 | |
| R. Iglesias | P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | |
| Total | 30 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 9 | — | — | ||
| a-struck out for Kim in the 7th | ||||||||||
| PHILLIES PITCHERS | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | WHIP |
| J. Luzardo | 5.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2.84 | 1.07 |
| A. McFarlane | 1.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2.37 | 1.11 |
| J. Duran (L, 2-7) (BS, 3) | 2.0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2.24 | 1.01 |
| Total | 8.0 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 9 | 1 | — | — |
| BRAVES PITCHERS | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | WHIP |
| C. Sale | 6.1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 2.24 | 0.98 |
| D. Fuentes (BS, 7) | 0.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.43 | 1.11 |
| D. Lee (W, 7-1) | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.04 | 0.96 |
| R. Iglesias (S, 35) | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.51 | 1.08 |
| Total | 9.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 0 | — | — |
| 2B: A. Bohm (30), E. Sosa (11) • 3B: J. Realmuto • 2B (BRAVES): M. Dubon (29) • 3B (BRAVES): O. Albies (2) • HR: A. Riley (20) • SH: M. Harris II (3) • DP: (Dubon-Albies-Olson) • CS: T. Turner (5) • Players of the Game: C. Sale (P, 6.1 IP, 3 ER, BB, 9 SO, 95 P) and J. Luzardo (P, 5.0 IP, ER, BB, 6 SO, 77 P) | |||||||||
Braves Rally Past Phillies In Series Opener
Braves right-hander Tyler Mahle gets the ball in Game 2, carrying a 4-1 record and 1.99 ERA since joining Atlanta. Philadelphia counters with left-hander Cristopher Sánchez, an 18-game winner with a 2.91 ERA this season. The Phillies went just 4-9 against Atlanta during the regular season.
Chris Sale needed 95 pitches to get through 6 1/3 innings, mixing his slider with heavy fastballs to keep Philadelphia’s lineup off balance, striking out nine while giving up three runs on four hits. Philadelphia’s Jesús Luzardo opened for the Phillies and covered five innings on 77 pitches.
Alec Bohm’s first-inning double drove in Kyle Schwarber to put Philadelphia ahead before Mike Yastrzemski answered with a run-scoring single in the second. Ozzie Albies gave Atlanta its first lead with a sixth-inning triple that Derek Hill nearly hauled in at the wall, only for the Phillies to reclaim the advantage in the seventh.
J.T. Realmuto ripped a two-run triple after Ronald Acuña Jr. bobbled a ball in right field, putting Philadelphia up 3-2 heading to the eighth. NBC turned to analyst John Kruk calling the series for the first time in years, and the veteran broadcaster watched Atlanta answer immediately, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
That’s when Atlanta’s bats woke up. Jhoan Duran allowed a two-out infield single to Michael Harris II, who finished 3-for-3, then hit Albies before Austin Riley crushed a 385-foot, three-run homer that turned a one-run deficit into a two-run lead. Dylan Lee tossed a scoreless eighth for the win, and Raisel Iglesias closed it out for the save in front of 30,127 fans at Truist Park.
Braves on Verge of Closing Out Series
Neither Sale nor Luzardo will be available Wednesday, and Duran, Lee and Iglesias already logged appearances out of the bullpen. Albies stayed in the game after getting hit by a pitch, leaving both rosters largely intact heading into Wednesday. Philadelphia’s Luis Arraez remains sidelined by an ankle injury and off the wild-card series roster entirely.
A Braves win Wednesday closes out the series 2-0 and sends Atlanta to face the Dodgers in the NL Division Series, with Game 1 set for Saturday at Dodger Stadium. A Phillies win forces a decisive Game 3 Thursday at 2 p.m. at Truist Park, also airing on NBC and Peacock. History favors Atlanta either way, since only one team has ever rallied from an 0-1 deficit to win a best-of-three wild-card series.
When Do the Braves Play Their Next Game? What’s Next After Win Over Phillies?