Austin Riley’s eighth-inning homer lifts Braves past Phillies 5–3 in Wild Card opener

Austin Riley hit a three-run homer off Jhoan Duran in the bottom of the eighth inning Tuesday, turning a one-run deficit into a 5–3 lead as Atlanta beat Philadelphia in Game 1 of their NL Wild Card Series. The Braves held that score through the ninth and took a 1–0 lead in the best-of-three series, Sports Illustrated reports.

Philadelphia had moved ahead 3–2 on J.T. Realmuto’s two-run triple in the seventh. Duran entered that inning to protect the lead, but Atlanta got two runners aboard in his second inning of work: Michael Harris reached on an infield single, and Ozzie Albies was hit by a pitch with two outs.

Riley then sent Duran’s first pitch, a fastball, over the right-center-field wall. MLB’s highlight captured the go-ahead three-run shot; Sports Illustrated put its distance at 385 feet.

The late swings decided a game in which both starters had limited the damage. Atlanta’s Chris Sale struck out nine over 6⅓ innings, while Philadelphia’s Jesus Luzardo allowed one run across five innings. Atlanta now has the series lead after the opener.