Braves blast past Phillies, set up Dodgers clash
Three home runs carried the Atlanta Braves past the Philadelphia Phillies 6-2 in Thursday's decisive National League wild-card game. Michael Harris II, Ozzie Albies and Matt Olson all went deep as six Braves pitchers stifled Philadelphia's offence. Atlanta now faces the Los Angeles Dodgers in a best-of-five NLDS starting Saturday.
Atlanta scored all the runs it needed on Harris's three-run first-inning homer off Aaron Nola, ending a six-game losing streak in elimination games that dated back to the 2018 NL Division Series. It was also the Braves' first winner-take-all postseason victory since Game 7 of the 1996 NL Championship Series.
Opener Ray Kerr delivered 3 1/3 scoreless innings of one-hit ball in his postseason debut, and Grant Holmes followed with two innings of one-run work. Chris Sale, Game 1's starter, appeared in relief — striking out Bryce Harper to end the eighth and closing out the ninth.
The loss extended Philadelphia's losing streak in winner-take-all games to four and ended the Phillies' four-year run of reaching at least the NLDS round. "All year long when the stakes have been the highest, we've been at our absolute best," said Braves manager Walt Weiss.
