Phillies lose Game 1 to the Braves; Philly faces steep odds for wild-card comeback; live updates
Just one out of 16 MLB teams have gone down 0-1 in the wild-card series and come back to win.
The Phillies lost Game 1 to the Atlanta Braves thanks to Austin Riley’s game-winning, three-run homer off Jhoan Duran.
The Phillies will turn to Cristopher Sánchez in Game 2, but the odds are stacked against a wild-card comeback.
It’s hard to believe in the Phillies, especially after their Game 1 loss. But here’s three reasons they can beat the Braves.
Phillies lose Game 1 to the Braves 5-3
ATLANTA – Not this time.
With the Phillies one out from taking a one-run lead into the ninth inning here Tuesday – and possibly stealing another Game 1 of another playoff series against the rival Braves – Jhoan Duran gave up a go-ahead three-run homer to Austin Riley in a 5-3 loss.
The Phillies now trail in the best-of-three series. Since 2022, when the wildcard miniseries was created, the winner of Game 1 has won all but one of 16 series.
Don Mattingly explains decision to turn to Jhoan Duran early
History isn't on the side of a Phillies' wild-card comeback
If the Phillies hope to comeback against the Atlanta Braves, they'll also need to overcome history.
Since 2022, when MLB made the best-of-three wild-card series permanent, 16 teams have gone down 0-1. Just one team – the New York Yankees in 2025 – managed to come back to win the series.
There's also Phillies history to overcome. Philly is 0-9 all-time when losing Game 1 in any postgame series.
Joel Embiid and all of Phillies social media react to heartbreaking loss
Duran gives up go-ahead homer to Austin Riley
Duran exhales after snagging line drive hit
Phillies turn to closer Jhoan Duran early to hold late lead
ATLANTA – J.T. Realmuto snapped an 0-for-34 slump in the final game of the regular season. Now, he has given the Phillies a lead in Game 1 of the wild-card series.
Oh, and Jhoan Duran is being asked to hold it ... in the seventh inning.
After the Phillies knocked Braves ace Chris Sale from the game with one out in the seventh inning, Realmuto lined a 99-mph fastball from Braves reliever Didier Fuentes into the right-field corner to drive home Bryan De La Cruz and Bryson Stott and open a 3-2 lead.
Phillies take back the lead
Braves take the lead off Phillies bullpen
ATLANTA — Stop us if you've heard this before: The Phillies' bullpen gave up a go-ahead run.
The first call to the bullpen in the postseason went to hard-throwing rookie Alex McFarlane, among the few trusted options for interim manager Don Mattingly. And after allowing a one-out single to Michael Harris II, McFarlane gave up an RBI triple off leaping Derek Hill's glove at the wall in right-center field.
Hill, who gained notoriety for robbing a homer earlier in the season against the Mets in New York, nearly did it again -- and in the same spot in Turner Field where Harris stole a homer from Nick Castellanos and doubled off Bryce Harper to end Game 2 of the 2023 NL division series.
A game of inches in Atlanta
In the top of the sixth inning, Bryce Harper nearly put the Phillies ahead with a two-run home run off Braves starter Chris Sale. However, it drifted a few feet right of the foul pole in right field.
Harper ultimately grounded out to shortstop and the game remained tied — for the moment. In the bottom half of the inning, it was again a difference of inches that helped the Braves break the tie and take their first lead of the series, as a triple from Ozzie Albies hit off the hand of center fielder Derek Hill.
The double off reliever Alex McFarlane, who had recently taken over for starter Jesus Luzardo, put the Phillies down, 2-1. If they go on to drop Game 1, those two moments could loom large.
Jesús Luzardo tosses a strong 'opener' in Game 1
ATLANTA -- Jesús Luzardo was more than an opener.
Making his first start in 22 days because of an inflamed left shoulder, Luzardo faced 22 batters, recorded 15 outs on 77 pitches, and got the Phillies through five innings in a 1-1 game against Braves ace Chris Sale.
Rookie reliever Alex McFarlane entered to begin the sixth.
Phillies get some pitchers going in the bullpen
Jesús Luzardo cruising for the Phillies
ATLANTA — Interim manager Don Mattingly said that the Phillies’ plan for Jesús Luzardo’s start on Tuesday was to “read and react.”
The lefty had not started a game since his Sept. 7 shutout against the Braves, so no one was sure what to expect from him in Game 1. Well, Luzardo’s pitch count is at 61 through four innings and the Phillies don’t have an arm up quite yet in the bullpen. Several relievers have begun their stretching routines during the top of the fifth, but at the moment it appears that Luzardo will be returning for the bottom of the inning.
The Braves have one run on three hits against him as the game remains deadlocked at 1-1. Luzardo has struck out four, two on his fastball and two on his sweeper.
Joel Embiid a fan of the playoffs
Trea Turner picked off to end the third inning
ATLANTA — Chris Sale only picked off one baserunner all season.
It took until the third inning of Game 1 for him to notch his second. Sale fooled Trea Turner, who was off and running from first as Sale stepped off the rubber, and was easily tagged out at second to end the top of the third inning. Turner made some contact with Atlanta shortstop Ha-Seong Kim while sliding, and Kim stayed down for a few moments.
After a 23-pitch first inning, Sale has been much more efficient. He needed eight pitches for the second and 12 pitches for the third.
Braves tie it up following odd sequence
ATLANTA — After a 10-pitch first inning from Jesús Luzardo, he dealt with some traffic in the second.
With runners on the corners, Atlanta third baseman Austin Riley attempted to check his swing, but the ball hit off the knob of his bat. It rolled back to Luzardo, who grabbed it, and caught Mauricio Dubón in a run down between third and home for the second out of the inning.
The Braves tied up the game on the very next pitch, when Mike Yastrzemski singled up the middle. But after falling behind, 3-0, to Ha-Seong Kim, Luzardo battled back to strike him out on a fastball, stranding a pair.
Phillies working Braves ace Chris Sale
The top of the Phillies’ lineup scored a run off Kyle Schwarber’s one-out walk and Alec Bohm’s two-out double, and, significantly, worked braves ace Chris Sale for 21 of the 23 pitches he threw in the first inning.
Alex Bohm double gives the Phillies an early lead
ATLANTA — The Phillies drew first blood in Game 1.
In a 2-2 count, Alec Bohm chased a high four-seam fastball from Chris Sale and sent it to the center field wall. Michael Harris II couldn’t come up with the catch, allowing Kyle Schwarber to score from first and Bohm to sail into second with a double.
The Braves held the Phillies to one run in the first, but Sale has looked erratic early. He still struck out Trea Turner and Bryce Harper — dialing his fastball up to 100 mph to get Harper swinging — but he has not been working in the zone much. The Phillies will need to cut down on their chasing to keep the pressure on the Atlanta ace.
John Kruk back in a suit for NBC broadcast
Phillies playoff run begins with a Trea Turner strikeout
Cristopher Sánchez on starting Game 2 and his confidence in Jesús Luzardo
ATLANTA — Cristopher Sánchez was sitting among the relievers in the Phillies’ bullpen during Game 162.
He didn’t get called on — if he had, it would only have been in a true emergency situation — but it had been left-hander’s idea to head out there that day after catch play.
“I let [interim manager Don Mattingly] know early on that I was ready to go out there for an inning if they needed me,” Sánchez said through team interpreter Diego D’Aniello. “It's just an important game, so I was just ready to go in case they needed me. But I did let him know early on that I felt great and ready to go.”
Can the Phillies find success against Braves ace Chris Sale?
The Phillies found a little bit of success against Chris Sale their last time out, scoring three runs in seven innings of a 6-5 loss on Sept. 11. In their previous five games against the Braves lefty, the Phillies had managed just four runs in 31 innings.
All three of those runs on Sept. 11 came on a bases clearing double by Derek Hill in the second inning. Not surprisingly, Hill is in the lineup for Game 1 on Monday.
“It doesn’t ever get easier with him,” Phillies manager Don Mattingly said a few hours before first pitch. “The more you see him, maybe you’ve also had some back and forth with pitches and counts and how he pitches you, so you have a little better feel for that. But that doesn’t really make it any easier.
How will Andrew Painter fare if he's needed out of the bullpen?
ATLANTA – As much as the Phillies are unsure what to expect from Jesus Luzardo in Game 1, they can't predict how rookie starter Andrew Painter will fare if he's needed out of the bullpen either.
But it won't stop them from using him.
"I think you look at it and, is he one of our better guys?" interim manager Don Mattingly said. "That's just what I'm look at. And he's one of our better guys. He's been obviously starting all year long. He's got different pitches. Yeah, he's one of our better guys. It's hard to go to somebody else that, I don't want to use names, but somebody else over him that's not the same caliber."
Braves aren't buying Jesus Luzardo clarification
ATLANTA – Upon announcing that Jesus Luzardo would start Game 1 for the Phillies, Don Mattingly quickly clarified.
"I should say open," he said.
The Braves aren't buying it.
Three things to watch in Phillies-Braves wild-card series
Trea Turner to lead off in Game 1
Phillies finalize wild-card roster
The Phillies announced their wild-card roster Tuesday morning, and reliever Brooks Raley did not make the cut. That means all three players the Phillies acquired at the trade deadline won't play during the wild-card series.
Second baseman Luis Arraez is out with a sprained left ankle, while reliever Caleb Kilian was placed on the 60-day injured reserve with an oblique strain.
Pitchers (12): Left-handers – José Alvarado, Tanner Banks, Jesús Luzardo, Tim Mayza and Cristopher Sánchez. Right-handers – Jonathan Bowlan, Jhoan Duran, Alex McFarlane, Aaron Nola, Andrew Painter, Chase Shugart and Zack Wheeler.
Catchers (3): Rafael Marchán, J.T. Realmuto and Garrett Stubbs.
Infielders (5): Alec Bohm, Otto Kemp, Edmundo Sosa, Bryson Stott and Trea Turner.
Outfielders (5): Justin Crawford, Bryan De La Cruz, Bryce Harper, Derek Hill and Brandon Marsh.
What will the Phillies do with Kyle Schwarber?
Will Kyle Schwarber be back batting leadoff again this series?
Two moves reeked of panic to me over the weekend when the walls were closing in: starting Aaron Nola on two-days’ rest and moving Trea Turner to leadoff.
No Phils batter has hit first more in the last five years since Schwarber, who had been batting leadoff again this season since August. You want to change it up? Do it two weeks ago and not in the final weekend when everyone is talking about 1964. The offense has been at its best over the last five years when Schwarber is batting leadoff. There’s no reason to go away from that now.
Three reasons the Phillies can beat the Braves
The Phillies have won 88 or more games just 23 times in their 144-year history. And I can’t imagine any of those 23 seasons were more maddening than the last six months. Well, maybe that 1964 season was. But we don’t need to rehash that right now.
The Phils have given you enough reasons this month to doubt that they can win twice in Atlanta and keep this thing going. They still don’t have a cleanup hitter, the bullpen is thinner than the new-look Joel Embiid, they lost their second-to-last game of the season by 11 runs, and they’re carrying three catchers on their postseason roster. So it’s hard to be bullish on the Phils, who are countering Chris Sale with an opener in Game 1 on Tuesday (2 p.m., NBC).
But before you check out, remember that this Braves team actually seems beatable. Their bullpen is even stronger with the return of Robert Suarez but they lost two starters this month to injuries. The Phillies know what Ronald Acuna Jr. did in September but Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, and Austin Riley each had an OPS in September less than .640. And the Braves have not won a playoff series since they won it all in 2021. Two of their last three October exits were at the hands of the Phils.
Not the worst thing for the Phillies to hit the road
Game 1 is important in any postseason series. In a best-of-three, it’s imperative.
Since the wild-card miniseries was instituted in 2022, 11 of the 16 series ended in sweeps. Only one team has overcome a Game 1 loss to win the series, and the 2025 Yankees were playing at home against the Red Sox.
Most teams prefer to open the playoffs at home. But after a week from hell, in which they lost four games in a row amid a chorus of boos and only narrowly avoided an epic collapse, maybe it’s best for the Phillies to get away.
John Kruk back in a suit to call Phillies-Braves series
The Phillies' wild-card series against the Atlanta Braves won't air on NBC Sports Philadelphia, but that won't stop John Kruk from calling the game.
Kruk will part of a crowded broadcast on NBC that will feature play-by-play announcer Matt Vasgersian, fellow analyst C.J. Nitkowski, and Joey Votto serving as a pitching analyst. Ashley ShahAhmadi will report from Truist Park.
Tuesday's game will also feature Kruk squeezing back into a suit, a requirement for announcers calling MLB games on NBC.
Jesús Luzardo will start Game 1 for the Phillies
In 2023, the Phillies came to Atlanta for a playoff series with their best two pitchers unavailable to start Game 1 against a record-setting offense.
So, they got creative.
It was difficult not to feel a twinge of déjà vu Monday, when Don Mattingly announced Jesús Luzardo will start — “I should say open,” he clarified — Game 1 of a best-of-three wild-card series against the Braves.
Scott Franzke’s postseason pep talk to Phillies fans
The vibes heading into the playoffs aren’t great, but longtime Phillies radio announcer Scott Franzke managed to offer something of a postseason pep talk directed at cynical fans prior to Saturday night’s loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
“You can pick whatever word you want for your feeling watching the Phillies baseball team these past few weeks. Maybe it’s frustrated. Maybe it’s angry. Maybe it’s exhausted,” Franzke said. “You feel that way because you’re a fan, and because you’re at your core a fan of this team. You still want them to win.”
Franzke has been through it all in his 21 season calling Phillies games, everything from a World Series win in 2008 to 99-loss season in 2015. Like fans across the Delaware Valley, he’s experienced the highs and lows of rooting for the Phillies.
Victus drops Red October bat
Phillies should benefit as ABS system makes playoff debut
This will be the first postseason to feature the automated ball‑strike (ABS) challenge system. That should benefit the Phillies, considering catcher J.T. Realmuto’s extreme success challenging balls and strikes.
As for other playoff rule changes, there will be no “ghost runners” during the postseason.
MLB’s designated runner rule puts a player on second base to begin each half-inning if a game is tied after nine innings. The rule was an attempt to preserve pitching staffs and avoid extra-long regular season games.
Phillies-Braves wild-card schedule
After sneaking into the playoffs, the Phillies will kick off their best-of-three wild-card series against the Atlanta Braves Tuesday afternoon.
Here's the TV schedule for the first two games:
Game 1: Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2 p.m. (NBC)
Game 2: Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2 p.m. (NBC)
Game 3 (if necessary): Thursday, Oct. 1, TBD (NBC)
Full wild-card schedule for Tuesday
Phillies at Braves: 2 p.m. on NBC
White Sox at Astros: 5 p.m. on NBCSN
Red Sox at Yankees: 8 p.m. on NBC
Cubs at Padres: 9:30 p.m. on NBCSN