Braves Win Game 1
Austin Riley's Late Home Run Lifts Braves Over Phillies in Wild Card Opener
Anonymous
Atlanta beat Philadelphia 5-3 in Game 1 of their best-of-three National League Wild Card Series, taking a 1-0 lead after the Phillies surrendered a 3-2 advantage. Interim manager Don Mattingly brought closer Jhoan Duran in during the seventh and kept him in to try to cover multiple innings. After a scoreless seventh, Duran recorded two outs in the eighth before allowing a single to Michael Harris II, hitting Ozzie Albies and giving up Austin Riley’s go-ahead three-run homer. Mattingly said he stood by using his best reliever and noted he might have considered another option if the inning had not gone quickly. Philadelphia faced elimination in Game 2, with Cristopher Sánchez set to start against Atlanta’s Tyler Mahle.
Key Points
1
Duran had allowed only two home runs in 61 regular-season appearances and had not pitched in the seventh inning all season; he was typically used as Philadelphia’s ninth-inning closer.
2
Mattingly said the Phillies had discussed before the game using Duran in the seventh and eighth innings if they reached the top of the lineup in that part of the game.
3
The loss continued a troubling postseason bullpen trend for Philadelphia: since Game 3 of the 2023 NLCS, its relievers had gone 2-6 with a 5.58 ERA and blown seven saves in seven chances.
4
Atlanta had a chance to end Philadelphia’s postseason run of success against the Braves; the Phillies had beaten them in all three of their previous playoff matchups, in the 1993 NLCS, 2022 NLDS and 2023 NLDS.
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