Braves Beat Phillies, Box Score Stats, Highlights & Updated Bracket After 2026 MLB Wild Card Game 1

The first home run of the 2026 MLB postseason decided Game 1 between the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies.

Austin Riley's three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth against Phillies closer Jhoan Duran handed Atlanta 5-3 victory in Game 1 of the NL wild-card series.

Box Score

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th
Phillies	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
Braves	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	3	x

Riley's home run countered a two-run seventh from the Phillies that was highlighted by a J.T. Realmuto triple into the right field corner.

The Phillies took the lead immediately after Chris Sale exited the ball game. Atlanta's ace struck out nine batters over 6.1 innings.

The Phillies jumped on Sale early in the first inning, as Alec Bohm's RBI double to center drove in Kyle Schwarber.

Atlanta picked up runs in the second and sixth innings. The first run came by way of a Mike Yaztremski RBI single. Ozzie Albies' RBI triple brought home the second run.

Atlanta's lineup was largely held quiet by Jesus Luzardo, who struck out six batters in his five innings of work. Luzardo recently came off the injured list and it was unknown how much he could offer in Game 1.

Riley's home run drove in the final three runs of the game for the Braves. The home run was a welcome sight for the third baseman, who hit .219 in the regular season and was regularly placed in the bottom half of the order.

The top three in Atlanta's order, Drake Baldwin, Ronald Acuna Jr. and Matt Olson went a combined 0-for-11, so Atlanta needed contributions from the rest of the lineup to win.

Philadelphia's heavy hitters, Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper went 1-for-10 at the plate.

Atlanta has an opportunity to clinch the sweep on Wednesday afternoon. Tyler Mahle pitches for the Braves, while the Phillies counter with co-regular-season wins leader Cristopher Sanchez. The winner of the series takes on the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS.