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These 4 moments defined the Braves' Game One win over the Phillies

ByEric Cole
Sep 29, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA;  Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale (51) leaves the game in the seventh inning against the Philadelphia Phillies during game one of the Wildcard round for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Truist Park.  Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
Sep 29, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale (51) leaves the game in the seventh inning against the Philadelphia Phillies during game one of the Wildcard round for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Game One of the Wild Card series between the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies is in the books. Things were looking dire for the Braves after Philly took a 3-2 lead deep into the game. Thankfully, Austin Riley picked the absolutely perfect time to atone for some truly atrocious at-bats in the game (and all season) and Atlanta stole victory from the jaws of defeat.

This was quite the baseball game with all of the ups and downs that you really want from the playoffs (except for the added strain on one's blood pressure medication). However, it is actually pretty easy to distill this game down to four key moments that changed the outcome of the game completely.

Here are the moments that defined Game One of the Braves' win

Alec Bohm hits an RBI double on a pitch he was insane to swing at

Chris Sale was dominant all day long against the Phillies and kept things close enough for Atlanta to mount a comeback. However, the Braves did fall behind early in the game, but for a truly ridiculous reason on a ridiculous pitch. Alec Bohm has given Sale fits all year long, but the fact that he managed to his a pitch this high out of the zone off the wall for a double is absolutely ridiculous.

Ozzie Albies' RBI triple gives the Braves the lead

The Braves managed to get back square with the Phillies thanks to a Mike Yastrzemski's RBI single. However, after a few innings of Sale and Jesus Luzardo setting guys down at will, Ozzie Albies finally put the Braves ahead with a triple that just BARELY avoided Derek Hill's glove in center field. Just like that, the Braves had a lead. Of note, Atlanta was unable to score Albies from third base which was almost very, very relevant.

JT Realmuto ropes a two-run triple that Ronald Acuña Jr. fumbles

The reason why Albies not scoring mattered came in the seventh inning. Sale was running out of gas late, and Walt Weiss turned to Didier Fuentes to get the Braves out of a jam. Fuentes secured the first of two outs he needed, but JT Realmuto lined a triple to the right field corner that Acuña Jr. couldn't corral. One run would have scored regardless, but giving up the extra run, in combination with not taking advantage of the earlier triple of their own, was looming large.

Austin Riley comes up short with runners in scoring position...until his gamebreaking homer in the eighth

Thankfully, Austin Riley of all players came to the rescue. Riley had looked terrible at the plate all day, and he also got really unlucky when a pitch way inside hit directly off the knob of his bat. He also happened to be one of the hitters responsible for Albies being stranded in the sixth. All was forgiven, though, as Riley came to the plate with two-out in the bottom of the eighth and cranked an opposite field home run that just barely got over the wall. That gave the Braves a 5-3 that proved to be the final margin.

There are loads of times in a baseball game where things can change dramatically. One pitch catching too much of the plate or one swing that is a tad too late can be the difference, especially under the bright lights of the playoffs. Thankfully, in Game One against the Phillies, the most important moments went the Braves' way.

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