Phillies vs Braves: Austin Riley's three-run homer off Jhoan Duran wins Wild Card Game 1 for Atlanta, 5-3

The Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 on Tuesday afternoon in Game 1 of the best-of-three National League Wild Card Series at Truist Park. Austin Riley hit a three-run homer off Phillies closer Jhoan Duran with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, turning a 3-2 deficit into the final score, according to MLB.com's game story.

That swing is why "Phillies vs Braves" is one of the most searched phrases in the United States this evening, with about 500,000 Google searches in five hours. Here is how it happened and what it means for the rest of the series.

How the game went

The runs, from the official MLB box score:

Inning	Play	Score (PHI-ATL)
Top 1	Alec Bohm doubles, Kyle Schwarber scores	1-0
Bottom 2	Mike Yastrzemski singles, Ozzie Albies scores	1-1
Bottom 6	Albies triples, Michael Harris II scores	1-2
Top 7	J.T. Realmuto two-run triple	3-2
Bottom 8	Riley three-run homer	3-5

Chris Sale struck out nine and got into the seventh inning, allowing one run through six. He hit Bryan De La Cruz with a pitch and gave up a single to Bryson Stott in the seventh, and Braves manager Walt Weiss pulled him at 95 pitches for rookie Didier Fuentes. Realmuto then tripled down the right-field line and both inherited runners scored, so Sale's line ended at 6.1 innings and three runs. Jesús Luzardo went five innings for Philadelphia and allowed one run on three hits.

The Duran decision

This is the part of the game Philadelphia will be asked about all night. Don Mattingly brought Duran in for the bottom of the seventh, protecting a one-run lead with six outs still to get before the ninth. MLB.com noted it was the earliest Duran had entered a game since April 2025, when he pitched for the Twins, and that he had never recorded more than six outs in an outing. He retired the side in order in the seventh and got the first two outs of the eighth. Then Harris singled, Duran hit Albies with a pitch, and Riley hit his first pitch, a four-seam fastball, the other way for the go-ahead homer. It was only the third home run Duran had allowed all year, MLB.com reported.

The hitter makes it stranger. Riley batted .219 with a .654 OPS in the regular season. With this homer he has three career go-ahead home runs in the eighth inning or later of a postseason game, which ties him for the all-time lead. One of the others also came against the Phillies, in Game 2 of the 2023 NLDS.

Dylan Lee got the win with a scoreless eighth and Raisel Iglesias got the save. Duran took the loss: two innings, three earned runs.

What the odds said, and what Game 1 is worth

Atlanta was already the favorite. On our sportsbook board before first pitch, the Braves moneyline ran from -177 to -196 across nine books. That works out to about a 64% to 66% chance of winning, before the bookmaker's margin is taken out. Philadelphia was +145 to +164.

Winning the opener matters more in this format than in any other round. In the history of the best-of-three Wild Card Series, the Game 1 winner has taken the series 21 of 24 times. Home teams that won Game 1 are 9 for 9, according to MLB.com. None of that decides Wednesday, but it shows how short the Phillies' margin now is: they have to win twice in Atlanta.

What comes next

• Game 2: Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2:00 PM ET at Truist Park on NBC and Peacock. Probable starters are Cristopher Sánchez for Philadelphia and Tyler Mahle for Atlanta, per MLB's schedule.
• Game 3, if necessary: Thursday, Oct. 1, 2:00 PM ET, also in Atlanta.

The winner moves on to the NL Division Series. Follow the results on our MLB scores page and the full bracket dates on the MLB schedule.

Sources: MLB Stats API official box score and schedule; MLB.com; moneylines from our odds board as of noon ET Sept. 29, converted to implied probability by us. This is sports information, not betting advice.