Braves Beat Phillies 5-3 to Take 1-0 Series Lead

The Atlanta Braves defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 in Game 1 of their National League Wild Card Series, taking a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three matchup. The result leaves Atlanta one win from advancing to the Division Series, while Philadelphia needs a victory to keep its season going. Austin Riley hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to put Atlanta ahead, according to a game recap. The recap said the Braves had trailed 3-2 when Riley connected against Phillies reliever Jhoan Duran. The play-by-play details were not independently confirmed in the supplied accounts. The teams had exchanged leads earlier in the game. The Phillies scored first, and Atlanta tied the game in the second inning, according to a preview recounting the scoring. That account said Ozzie Albies put the Braves ahead in the sixth before Philadelphia moved in front with a two-run triple by J.T. Realmuto in the seventh. Atlanta then rallied in the eighth for the final 5-3 score. The recap credited Riley’s homer with securing the win for Atlanta and noted that he had finished the regular season with a .219 batting average, 19 home runs and 72 runs batted in.