Three of the four Division Series matchups are set, with the White Sox, Cubs and Yankees all finishing off sweeps on Wednesday night. The Braves and Phillies will play an elimination game to decide who will face the Dodgers in the NLDS.
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Atlanta Braves, 8:00 PM (Series Tied 1-1)
The Braves appeared to have the Phillies on the ropes after taking a 3-1 lead in the seventh inning, but Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper crushed back-to-back homers against Dylan Lee to tie the game in the eighth inning. Alec Bohm socked a go-ahead homer off Didier Fuentes in the 10th inning, and Andrew Painter froze Dominic Smith with a fastball to strand two runners in the bottom half of the inning. J.T. Realmuto gave Painter an assist by challenging the last pitch to Smith, which resulted in the first-ever walk-off ABS challenge in playoff history. Painter threw three scoreless innings to earn the win.
The Phillies will send Aaron Nola (7-12, 4.67 ERA) to the mound, while the Braves will counter with a bullpen game, started by lefty Ray Kerr (0-0, 1.47 ERA). Nola had a strong second half, but he started on two days’ rest against the Rays on Saturday and got battered for three runs and four hits in one inning – all of which were for extra bases. Grant Holmes will likely serve as the bulk reliever for Atlanta following Kerr. The game will be broadcast on NBC and Peacock.
