Riley’s eighth-inning homer puts Braves ahead in Wild Card opener
Atlanta beat Philadelphia 5–3 to take a 1–0 lead in the best-of-three series after Austin Riley hit a three-run homer off closer Jhoan Duran.
The Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5–3 in Game 1 of their best-of-three Wild Card Series, taking a 1–0 lead. Austin Riley’s three-run homer in the eighth inning turned Philadelphia’s 3–2 lead into the final score.
The Phillies had moved ahead in the seventh when J.T. Realmuto hit a two-run triple. Manager Don Mattingly then brought in closer Jhoan Duran as Atlanta’s top of the order came up.
Duran pitched a scoreless seventh on 11 pitches and recorded two outs in the eighth. Michael Harris II reached on an infield single, and Duran hit Ozzie Albies before Riley homered.
Mattingly told CBS Sports the plan was to use Duran in the seventh and eighth if he faced the top of Atlanta’s order. He said he might have considered sending him back out for the ninth if Duran had finished the eighth with a low pitch count.
Duran had thrown more than 20 pitches by Riley’s at-bat, but the exact count was not reported. Mattingly said the Phillies had their best reliever in the game and described the loss as frustrating.
