Riley’s eighth-inning homer lifts Braves past Phillies

The Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 in Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series on Tuesday, September 29, as Austin Riley’s three-run homer in the eighth inning turned a Phillies lead into an Atlanta advantage. The Braves moved within one win of advancing in the best-of-three series, while Philadelphia faced elimination in Game 2. With two outs in the eighth, Michael Harris II singled and Ozzie Albies was hit by a pitch, bringing Riley to the plate against Phillies closer Jhoan Duran. Riley drove the first pitch he saw over the right-center-field wall, putting Atlanta ahead 5-3. It was his sixth career postseason home run. The accounts agree on the inning and result; one described a throw to first during Harris’s at-bat as getting away, but that detail was not established across the reports. Philadelphia had taken a 3-2 lead in the seventh. J.T. Realmuto hit a two-run triple with two outs, scoring the runners after Alec Bohm’s RBI double had given the Phillies an early lead. Atlanta had tied the game in the second and moved ahead 2-1 in the sixth on an Ozzie Albies triple before Realmuto’s hit put Philadelphia in front.