ATLANTA, GA—For a few innings Tuesday afternoon, it looked like the Philadelphia Phillies had found exactly the kind of postseason escape act they needed at Truist Park.
They survived Chris Sale. They erased a late deficit. J.T. Realmuto delivered the biggest hit of the afternoon, and Philadelphia handed a one-run lead to one of the most electric arms in its bullpen.
Then Austin Riley changed everything.
Riley launched a three-run home run off Jhoan Duran in the bottom of the eighth inning, turning a Phillies lead into a 5-3 Braves advantage and sending Philadelphia to a Game 1 loss in the National League Wild Card Series.
It was a particularly painful ending considering how close the Phillies came to stealing the opener in Atlanta.
Phillies Strike First, But Sale Settles In
Philadelphia wasted little time getting on the board.
Kyle Schwarber drew a first-inning walk before Alec Bohm doubled to center field, bringing Schwarber around and giving the Phillies an early 1-0 lead.
Atlanta answered in the second. After Ozzie Albies walked and advanced to third, Mike Yastrzemski delivered an RBI single to center to tie the game.
From there, starters Jesús Luzardo and Sale settled into a pitchers’ duel.
Luzardo kept Atlanta off the board over the next three innings and finished his afternoon allowing one run before Philadelphia turned the game over to its bullpen in the sixth.
Sale, meanwhile, repeatedly worked around Phillies traffic. Philadelphia managed just one run against the veteran left-hander despite putting runners on base throughout the afternoon.
Atlanta finally broke the tie in the sixth after Michael Harris II singled against Alex McFarlane and Albies followed with an RBI triple to center, giving the Braves a 2-1 lead.
Realmuto Turns the Game Around
Philadelphia finally broke through against Sale in the seventh.
Bryan De La Cruz was hit by a pitch before Bryson Stott singled to right, putting runners at the corners and ending Sale’s afternoon.
Didier Fuentes entered and retired Justin Crawford, leaving Philadelphia down to two outs with its season opener beginning to slip away.
Realmuto had other plans.
The Phillies catcher ripped a triple into right field, scoring both De La Cruz and Stott and suddenly putting Philadelphia ahead 3-2.
For a team that had spent much of the afternoon searching for one big hit, Realmuto appeared to have delivered it.
Duran followed with a perfect seventh inning, striking out Dominic Smith before retiring Drake Baldwin and Ronald Acuña Jr.
One inning later, the game unraveled.
Riley Delivers the Knockout Blow
Duran recorded the first two outs of the eighth before Harris reached on an infield single and Albies was hit by a pitch.
That brought Riley to the plate with two aboard.
He did not miss.
Riley drove a three-run homer to right-center field, instantly flipping Atlanta’s one-run deficit into a 5-3 lead and sending Truist Park into a frenzy.
Philadelphia still brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth after Brandon Marsh opened the inning with a single, but Bryan De La Cruz grounded into a double play. Stott then flew out to end the game.
The Phillies will now have to regroup quickly. In a best-of-three Wild Card Series, there is almost no room for another late-game mistake.
Game 2 Preview
Philadelphia will hand the ball to Cristopher Sánchez with its season on the line in Game 2.
The left-hander finished a standout 2026 regular season at 18-7 with a 2.91 ERA, 231 strikeouts and a 1.20 WHIP across 207 innings. Sánchez also earned the honor of starting the 2026 MLB All-Star Game for the National League at Citizens Bank Park, becoming the first Phillies pitcher to make an All-Star start since Roy Halladay in 2011.
Atlanta will counter with right-hander Tyler Mahle, who finished 7-10 with a 3.99 ERA, 137 strikeouts and a 1.23 WHIP in 149 innings.
Mahle has already seen Philadelphia twice this month, while Sánchez now gets the responsibility of trying to keep the Phillies’ postseason alive.
After letting Game 1 slip away late, there is no mystery surrounding the stakes Wednesday.
Philadelphia needs Sánchez to pitch like the ace he has been all season.
