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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sport
Karl Rasmussen

Takeaways: Austin Riley’s Go-Ahead Homer Punishes Phillies’ Bullpen Risk in Game 1

The Braves came back to win Game 1 of the NL wild-card series at home on Thursday against the Phillies thanks to a three-run home run by Austin Riley in the eighth inning. Chris Sale pitched well for Atlanta, tying a postseason career-high with nine strikeouts across 6 1/3 innings. Facing him, Jesus Luzardo delivered about as good an outing as Phillies fans could’ve asked for. Anticipated to be just an opener for the game, Luzardo ended up throwing 77 pitches and surrendered just one run across five innings, far exceeding his expected workload.

Both starters pitched well, but this game was ultimately decided in the later innings. Riley’s go-ahead, three-run shot off Jhoan Duran in the eighth inning gave Atlanta a 5–3 lead. The Braves shut the door in the ninth inning to grab a 1–0 lead in the best-of-three series.

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