On Tuesday afternoon, the Atlanta Braves went up 1-0 in their Wild Card series against the Philadelphia Phillies with a wild 5-3 home win. The Braves found themselves trailing 3-2 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, but they managed to get two men on base, after which Austin Riley stepped up to the plate.
Riley then did what he has so often over the years for Atlanta and delivered a clutch home run to give the Braves their 5-3 lead.
The Braves then went on to easily dispatch the Phillies in the top of the ninth inning to hold on for the win.
Riley has suffered through a brutal hitting season for Atlanta this year, but his one constant has been his success against the Phillies, which continued with this hit against Jhoan Duran.
The Braves led this game 2-1 at one point after a gem of a game from starting pitcher Chris Sale, but the team opted to pull Sale midway through the seventh inning and promptly gave up the lead.
However, Riley ended up coming up clutch, and Atlanta is now one win away from winning their first playoff series since their 2021 championship and securing a matchup with the reigning two-time champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS.
Tyler Mahle is likely going to be the starting pitcher for Atlanta in Game 2 as they look to punch their ticket to the next round. 15 out of the 16 teams who have gone up 1-0 in Wild Card series historically have gone on to win those matchups.