Braves hit three homers to beat Phillies 6-2 in Game 3 and win Wild Card Series

The Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-2 on Thursday, October 1, in the deciding Game 3 of their National League Wild Card Series. Atlanta hit three home runs in front of 41,731 fans at Truist Park and advances to face the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to The Associated Press as published by The Baltimore Sun.

How Game 3 was won

Michael Harris II put the Braves ahead with a three-run homer off Phillies starter Aaron Nola in the first inning. Nola was pulled after 1⅔ innings, having allowed three runs.

Ozzie Albies added a two-run homer off Zack Wheeler in the fourth inning, and Matt Olson hit a solo homer off Jonathan Bowlan in the seventh.

Braves starter Ray Kerr threw 3⅓ scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk. Grant Holmes pitched two innings and allowed one run to earn the win. Closer Chris Sale got four outs on one day's rest, throwing 21 pitches.

Braves manager Walt Weiss said that "when the stakes have been the highest...we've been at our absolute best," according to the AP.

How the series got to a Game 3

Atlanta won Game 1 5-3. In Game 2 on September 30, the Phillies trailed 3-1 entering the seventh inning before Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper hit back-to-back home runs off Dylan Lee in the eighth to tie the game, The Globe and Mail reported. Schwarber's drive travelled 447 feet and Harper's 418 feet.

Alec Bohm then won it for Philadelphia with a two-out homer in the 10th inning off Didier Fuentes, a 357-foot shot to right field. The Globe and Mail reported that the game ended when Andrew Painter struck out Dominic Smith on an ABS challenge, the first postseason game to end on a strike-zone appeal.

Earlier in Game 2, Harper had a Drake Baldwin double glance off his glove in right field in the sixth inning, allowing a run to score. "Probably should have been caught, obviously," Harper said.

Phillies face an offseason of change

After the Game 3 loss, Harper suggested the roster could change significantly. "I'd imagine this team would look a lot different next year with the guys that are kind of leaving this clubhouse," he said, according to Yahoo Sports.

Yahoo Sports noted that the Phillies reached the World Series in 2022, were eliminated in the NLCS in 2023 and lost in the Division Series in 2024 and 2025. Yahoo Sports also reported that the team went 79-55 under interim manager Don Mattingly, who took over after Rob Thomson was fired during the season.

Why it matters

The result completes the Wild Card round. The Braves join the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees and San Diego Padres as the teams moving on from it. Atlanta now faces the Dodgers, whom the AP described as the two-time defending World Series champions, with the Division Series opening Saturday at Dodger Stadium. For Philadelphia, it is the earliest postseason exit of its recent run of playoff appearances.

Sources

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.