Braves hit 3 homers, including 3-run shot by Harris, to beat Phillies 6-2 in wild card clincher

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Michael Harris II hit a three-run homer in the first inning, Ray Kerr threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings and the Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-2 on Thursday night in the decisive Game 3 of their National League Wild Card Series.

Ozzie Albies launched a two-run homer in the fourth and Matt Olson added a solo shot in the seventh for the Braves, who advanced to a best-of-five Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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.

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.”

Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola was pulled after allowing three runs in 1 2/3 innings. Nola walked Ronald Acuña Jr. and Matt Olson with one out in the first before giving up the homer to Harris, who hit into two double plays in Wednesday’s 4-3 loss in 10 innings which forced Thursday night’s game.

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The Yankees without Aaron Judge showed why this might be their best chance to win with him

Kerr made his postseason debut in only fourth career start. Braves manager Walt Weiss wanted a left-hander to face Phillies left-handed hitters Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper at least once.

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.

Left-hander Chris Sale, the starter in Atlanta’s 5-3 win in Tuesday’s series opener, struck out Harper to end the eighth and closed out the win in the ninth by striking out Bryan De La Cruz and pinch-hitter Otto Kemp.

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.

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 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.

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.

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. Mattingly said second baseman Luis Arraez, who was left off the roster for the series due to a left ankle sprain, has progressed to working in the weight room.

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.

The Braves will play at Dodger Stadium on Saturday in the opening game of the Division Series.

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迈克尔·哈里斯二世在第一局击出三分全垒打，雷·克尔投了 3 又 1/3 局无失分，亚特兰大勇士队在周四晚上的国家联盟外卡系列赛决胜局第三场比赛中以 6-2 击败了费城费城人队。

奥兹·阿尔比斯在第四局击出两分全垒打，马特·奥尔森在第七局又击出一支阳春全垒打，帮助勇士队晋级与洛杉矶道奇队的五局三胜制分区系列赛。

勇士队自2021年赢得世界大赛冠军以来，首次在季后赛系列赛中获胜，并首次在季后赛系列赛中战胜费城人队。费城人队曾在1993年国联冠军赛以及2022年和2023年国联分区赛中击败过亚特兰大勇士队。

今年，勇士队在国联东区以六场优势战胜费城人队，赢得了冠军，并在季后赛的比赛中也取得了胜利。

“他们在这个分区里从头到尾都保持着领先优势，”费城人队临时主教练唐·马丁利说道。“在全部162场比赛中，他们是我们分区里最好的球队。”

费城人队右投手阿伦·诺拉在投了1又2/3局后失掉3分，随后被换下。诺拉在第一局一出局的情况下保送了罗纳德·阿库尼亚和马特·奥尔森，之后被哈里斯击出本垒打。哈里斯在周三10局4-3的失利中还击出了两次双杀，这场失利也使得比赛不得不推迟到周四晚上进行。

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没有阿隆·贾奇的洋基队展现了为什么这可能是他们拥有他之后赢得总冠军的最佳机会。

科尔职业生涯第四次先发就迎来了季后赛首秀。勇士队主教练沃尔特·韦斯希望派一名左投手至少与费城人队的左打者凯尔·施瓦伯和布莱斯·哈珀对决一次。

克尔仅被击出一支安打（第一局被施瓦伯击出），并投出一次保送（第四局也保送施瓦伯）。右投手格兰特·霍姆斯接替克尔投球，两局失一分，拿下胜投。

科尔在全场爆满的观众起立鼓掌中离场，走向球员休息区时，他举起手臂向欢呼声致意。

左投手克里斯·塞尔在周二系列赛首战中率领亚特兰大队以 5-3 获胜，他在第八局三振了哈珀，并在第九局三振了布莱恩·德拉克鲁兹和代打奥托·坎普，最终帮助球队赢得了比赛。

费城人队的右投手扎克·惠勒（Zack Wheeler）是周日7-3战胜坦帕湾光芒队锁定外卡席位的胜投投手，他在第四局保送了奥斯汀·莱利（Austin Riley），随后被阿尔比斯（Albies）击出右外野方向的本垒打，亚特兰大勇士队以5-0领先。惠勒投了四局，失两分。费城人队的第四位投手乔纳森·鲍兰（Jonathan Bowlan）被奥尔森（Olson）击出中外野方向的本垒打。

32岁的克尔在季后赛的聚光灯下表现出色。他在8月16日被亚特兰大勇士队召回后，只出战了9场比赛。他在2024年接受了汤米·约翰手术，2025年没有上场比赛。

费城在 2022 年世界大赛中输给了休斯顿，此后他们连续五年打进季后赛，但出局的速度却越来越快——先是国联冠军赛出局，然后是两次国联分区赛出局，现在又是外卡赛失利。

“如果你没赢下最后一场比赛，不管怎样都会以失败告终。地点在哪里都一样，”马丁利说道。

这场比赛吸引了41731名观众，全部售罄。此前，勇士队在前两场比赛中未能售罄，原因是许多球迷因上学或工作时间与下午2点15分的开球时间冲突。本周其他外卡系列赛的下午开球也影响了上座率。

周二 Truist Park 公布的到场人数为 30,127 人，周三为 37,150 人。

埃德蒙多·索萨在周三的比赛中跑向一垒时似乎加重了腹股沟伤势，并在第九局退场，但他仍然留在费城人队的首发阵容中担任三垒手。马丁利表示，二垒手路易斯·阿拉埃兹此前因左脚踝扭伤而缺席了系列赛，目前他已开始进行力量训练。

韦斯表示，勇士队右投手泰勒·马勒周三在赛前热身时感到腹部拉伤，但他仍然在七局比赛中只失一分，周四他“感觉相当不错”。

勇士队将于周六在道奇体育场进行分区系列赛的首场比赛。