Austin Riley delivered the biggest swing of the Braves’ season Tuesday afternoon, blasting a three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to rally Atlanta past the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 in Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series at Truist Park.
Philadelphia struck first when Alec Bohm doubled home Kyle Schwarber in the opening inning. Atlanta answered in the second on an RBI single by Mike Yastrzemski before Ozzie Albies put the Braves in front 2-1 with an RBI triple in the sixth.
The Phillies responded in the seventh. J.T. Realmuto ripped a two-run triple to give Philadelphia a 3-2 advantage, putting Atlanta in danger of dropping the opening game of the best-of-three series. Braves starter Chris Sale finished with 6⅓ innings, four hits allowed and nine strikeouts.
Then came the turning point in the eighth. Michael Harris II singled with two outs, Ozzie Albies was hit by a pitch, and Riley stepped in against Phillies closer Jhoan Duran. Riley drove a three-run homer to right-center field, turning a one-run deficit into a 5-3 Braves lead. Raisel Iglesias then closed the door in the ninth to secure the victory.
The win gives Atlanta a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three Wild Card Series and puts the Braves one victory away from advancing to the National League Division Series. Game 2 is set for this afternoon at Truist Park. You can listen to game two of the series this afternoon starting with the Braves pregame show at 1pm on Kool 102.7 with a first pitch time of 2:15.
