Braves hit 3 homers and Chris Sale
closes out 6-2 win over Phillies to win Wild Card Series
[October 02, 2026]
By CHARLES ODUM
ATLANTA (AP) — After hitting into two double plays during the
Atlanta Braves' loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday,
Michael Harris II was eager for an opportunity to make amends.
He didn't have to wait long.
Harris hit a three-run homer in the first inning, Chris Sale came
out of the bullpen on one day of rest to get the final four outs and
the Braves beat the Phillies 6-2 on Thursday night in the decisive
Game 3 of their National League Wild Card Series.
Surprise starter Ray Kerr threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings for Atlanta,
and Ozzie Albies launched a two-run homer in the fourth. Matt Olson
added a solo shot in the seventh as the Braves advanced to a
best-of-five Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“I told our guys, `Man, all year long when the stakes have been the
highest, when the challenges have been the toughest, we’ve been at
our absolute best.' So it doesn’t surprise me that we played the way
we did tonight,” Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said.
Harris has hit .426 with two homers and five RBIs in his first eight
career postseason games, but he wanted to move past the two double
plays in Wednesday’s 4-3 loss in 10 innings that forced Thursday
night’s game.
“Just found one pitch to put my best swing on and hopefully we got
some runs out of it, and we did,” said Harris, who connected off
Aaron Nola.
The Braves took a postseason series for the first time since winning
the 2021 World Series and earned their first playoff series win
against the Phillies. Philadelphia beat Atlanta in the 1993 NL
Championship Series and the 2022 and 2023 NLDS.
“Definitely feels amazing to win against the Phillies because they
were the ones that sent us home previous years, and especially at
home,” Albies said.
After winning the NL East by six games over Philadelphia this year,
the Braves came out on top in their postseason matchup, too.
“Those guys kind of went start to finish in this division,” Phillies
interim manager Don Mattingly said. “Over the course of the 162
(games), they were the best team in our division.”
Nola was pulled after allowing three runs in 1 2/3 innings. He
walked Ronald Acuńa Jr. and Olson with one out in the first before
giving up the homer to Harris,
Kerr made his postseason debut in only his fourth career start.
Weiss wanted a left-hander to face Phillies left-handed hitters Kyle
Schwarber and Bryce Harper at least once.
Mattingly acknowledged that Kerr pitching long enough to face
Schwarber and Harper twice was a perfect script for a Braves win.
“Obviously, it’s nice,” Mattingly said. “When you’re in that
situation where you can run through your lefties again at the top is
probably the best-case scenario, and he was able to do that.”
Kerr allowed only one hit — to Schwarber in the first — and one walk
— to Schwarber in the fourth. Right-hander Grant Holmes followed
Kerr and allowed one run in two innings to earn the win.
Kerr left to a standing ovation from the sellout crowd and
acknowledged the cheers by lifting up his arm as he approached the
dugout.
“Hopefully, Ray Kerr became a bit of a household name tonight,”
Weiss said. “He deserves it.”
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Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale points ot the crowd after Game 3
of baseball's NL Wild Card Series against the Philadelphia Phillies,
Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
The 37-year-old Sale, who started Atlanta's 5-3 win
in Tuesday's series opener, struck out Harper to end the eighth and
closed out the series in the ninth by striking out Bryan De La Cruz
and pinch-hitter Otto Kemp.
The ace left-hander threw 95 pitches over 6 1/3 innings Tuesday. Two
days later, he threw 21 pitches in his first relief appearance of
the year.
Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler, the winning pitcher in Sunday's
7-3 victory over Tampa Bay that clinched the wild-card spot, walked
Austin Riley in the fourth before giving up Albies' homer to right
field that gave Atlanta a 5-0 lead. Wheeler allowed two runs in four
innings. Jonathan Bowlan, Philadelphia's fourth pitcher, gave up
Olson's homer to center field.
Kerr, 32, flourished in the postseason spotlight. He pitched in only
nine games after being recalled by Atlanta on Aug. 16. He underwent
Tommy John surgery in 2024 and didn’t pitch in 2025.
Kerr said he was told Wednesday he would start on Thursday.
“It was fun. It was a journey," Kerr said of his path back to the
majors. “I’ve dreamed about stuff like this. For it to actually
happen, I still haven’t even processed yet.”
Philadelphia's 2022 World Series loss to Houston began a streak of
five straight postseason appearances with progressively quicker
exits — the NL Championship Series, two NLDS exits and now the Wild
Card Series loss.
“If you don’t win the last game, it’s a crash landing no matter
what. It doesn’t matter where it is,” Mattingly said.
Night game brings quick sellout
The game drew a sellout of 41,731 after the Braves fell short of
sellouts in the first two games of the series, with school and work
conflicting with the 2:15 p.m. first pitch for many fans. Afternoon
starts also hurt attendance in other Wild Card Series games this
week.
The announced attendance at Truist Park was 30,127 on Tuesday and
37,150 on Wednesday.
Injury update
Edmundo Sosa remained in the Phillies' starting lineup at third base
after he appeared to aggravate a groin injury running to first base
and left Wednesday's game in the ninth inning. Weiss said Braves
right-hander Tyler Mahle, who allowed only one run in seven innings
on Wednesday despite feeling an abdominal pull in pregame warmups,
was “feeling pretty good” on Thursday.
Up next
The Braves will play at Dodger Stadium on Saturday in the opening
game of their Division Series against the two-time defending World
Series champions.
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