Austin Riley's go-ahead, 3-run blast in eighth inning lifts Braves to Game 1 wild-card win over Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly made the bold choice to insert closer Jhoan Duran in the seventh inning Tuesday in Atlanta, with his team ahead by one run in Game 1 of the NL wild-card series against the Braves.That head-turning decision was initially paying off. Duran retired the first five batters he faced. The next two, however, reached base.And then Austin Riley — who hit a career-low.219 this season — authored a redemptive swing in the bottom of the eighth.He launched a 99-mph four-seam fastball 385 feet, beyond the wall in right-center field, a blast that sent Truist Park into pandemonium. That go-ahead, three-run homer was the difference-maker in a 5-3 Braves victory that staked Atlanta to a 1-0 series lead.BRAVES WIN!#LetItFly pic.twitter.com/1uALAJubwV— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) September 29, 2026Perhaps Riley's swing will turn out to be a microcosm of a series of atonement. Atlanta, after all, is looking to avenge not only its defeat to the Phillies in the 2022 NLDS but also its loss to its NL East rivals in the 2023 NLDS.Back in the postseason after an injury-riddled 2025 campaign, the division-champion Braves turned to lefty Chris Sale. The 10-time All-Star, who won the NL Cy Young Award with Atlanta in 2024, went deeper than he ever had in a postseason start. The 37-year-old, a World Series champ with the Boston Red Sox in 2018, delivered 6 1/3 innings against the Phillies.His patented slider was working, and he reached 100 mph with his four-seam fastball in the opening frame. Sale struck out nine (another playoff career high) and allowed four hits. He was tagged with three earned runs, though, the final two of which were scored after his day was done.In the top of the sixth, Sale hit Bryan De La Cruz with a pitch and gave up a single to Bryson Stott. That set the stage for a two-out triple from Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto, beamed the opposite way off righty reliever Didier Fuentes.Realmuto toiled through an 0-for-34 stretch late in the regular season, but he delivered to give the Phillies a one-run advantage.J.T. Realmuto had an 0-for-34 streak in the final week of the regular season.His 2-run triple in the 7th just gave the Phillies a lead!#NoTimeLikeOctober pic.twitter.com/UepXwChDdb— MLB (@MLB) September 29, 2026For most of the day, the Phillies were buoyed by their southpaw starter, Jesús Luzardo. The soon-to-be 29-year-old was pitching for the second time in three days — he tossed four pitches in the Phillies' playoff-clinching win over the Tampa Bay Rays — and making his first start since he came off the injured list due to inflammation in his throwing shoulder.Practically picking up where he left off in that start, a shutout of the Braves, Luzardo exceeded expectations Tuesday. He spun five innings of one-run ball and piled up six punchouts.After Alec Bohm provided Philadelphia a first-inning lead with a double to center, the lone run Luzardo conceded came in the second, when Mike Yastrzemski knocked a single to center.Atlanta broke the 1-1 tie in the sixth, with Phillies right-handed reliever Alex McFarlane on the mound. Philadelphia outfielder Derek Hill nearly made a remarkable catch at the wall in center, but the ball missed his glove and bounced off his wrist. Hill had trouble gathering it before finding his cut-off man. In the process, Ozzie Albies zoomed to third for a triple, and Michael Harris II raced home.It appeared as if Realmuto's triple the next inning was going to be the defining moment of the series opener — until Riley produced his.The Phillies reached the postseason for the fifth year in a row this season, but they all but backed their way in this time. To hold off the Arizona Diamondbacks and secure a playoff berth, Philadelphia needed a win in Game 162 versus the Rays. That long-awaited victory snapped a four-game losing streak and subverted a colossal, late-season collapse.Nevertheless, the Phillies entered the playoffs looking to, in a way, repeat history. Four years ago, Philadelphia made a run through October, including a series victory over the Atlanta Braves, while under the leadership of an interim manager.Back then, Rob Thomson served as the skipper, and Philadelphia thwarted the NL East champion Braves in the NLDS. This time around, the Phillies came into their wild-card showdown against the division-winning Braves with Mattingly — Thomson's replacement — at the helm on the heels of a similar midseason turnaround.But on Tuesday, unlike in the 2022 NLDS, the Braves came out on top in Game 1.Follow along with Yahoo Sports for in-game updates, highlights and more from Game 1 of the National League wild-card series between the Braves and Phillies.