SANDY SPRINGS (Interstat) — Drake Baldwin doubled on a sharp line drive to center field in the bottom of the 11th inning, scoring Ha-Seong Kim from first base and lifting the Atlanta Braves to a 6-5 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night, Sept. 11, 2026, at Truist Park. The Braves improved to 87-61 and stretched their National League East lead to five games over the second-place Phillies, who fell to 82-66. The game lasted 3 hours, 8 minutes and drew 40,161 fans. It was the second game of a three-game series and produced the kind of late-inning swings that have defined the division race. The Phillies entered after a 2-1 loss to Houston on Thursday, while Atlanta had beaten Tampa Bay 3-1.

Atlanta opened the scoring in the first inning when Matt Olson sent a fly ball to left field for a solo home run, his 38th of the season. Philadelphia answered in the second. Edmundo Sosa singled, Bryan De La Cruz walked, and J.T. Realmuto was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Derek Hill then lined a double to center field that cleared the bases, giving the Phillies a 3-1 lead. Hill finished 1 for 2 with three RBIs, delivering the biggest hit of Philadelphia’s early offense. The Braves had an early chance to add on in the third when Ronald Acuña Jr. doubled and Olson walked, but Michael Harris II grounded out and Mauricio Dubón lined out.

Chris Sale, Atlanta’s top performer, settled in after that shaky second inning. Sale worked seven innings, allowed three hits and three earned runs, and struck out six. He kept the Braves close while Philadelphia’s Aaron Nola also pitched well. Nola lasted 6 1/3 innings, gave up six hits and two earned runs, and struck out three. Nola exited after 6 1/3 innings, and Chase Shugart, José Alvarado and Alex McFarlane kept Atlanta off the board into extra innings. The Phillies took a 3-1 lead into the late innings, but Atlanta began to chip away in the seventh.

Austin Riley homered to left-center field in the seventh, his 17th of the season, to cut Philadelphia’s lead to 3-2. The Braves then tied the game in the ninth. Mike Yastrzemski singled, and Sean Murphy followed with a single to center field that scored DaShawn Keirsey Jr. from second. A fielding error by center fielder Derek Hill allowed the run to score and moved Murphy to second. Drake Baldwin was hit by a pitch, but Acuña flied out and Olson grounded out, sending the game to extra innings tied at 3-3.

In the 10th, Philadelphia regained the lead. Justin Crawford singled to center field to score Bryson Stott and make it 4-3. Atlanta answered in the bottom half. Brewer Hicklen pinch-ran for Olson, moved to third on Harris’ groundout, and scored on Dubón’s sacrifice fly to center field. That tied the game at 4-4 and set up another tense inning.

The 11th brought two more lead changes. Philadelphia moved ahead when Bryce Harper singled, with the ball deflected by first baseman Dominic Smith, allowing Garrett Stubbs to reach third. Luis Arraez then lined a single to left field to score Stubbs and put the Phillies ahead 5-4. Bryson Stott walked, but Alec Bohm struck out and Crawford grounded out, leaving the bases loaded. Atlanta’s bottom half began with outs from Austin Riley and Dominic Smith, but Ozzie Albies was on base as the automatic runner. Ha-Seong Kim singled to left field to score Albies and tie the game at 5-5. Baldwin then doubled to center field, and Kim raced home with the winning run.

Atlanta’s bullpen contributed important innings. Dylan Lee threw 1 1/3 innings and allowed one hit and no earned runs. Victor Mederos worked two-thirds of an inning with no hits, no earned runs and one strikeout. Raisel Iglesias pitched a scoreless inning, allowing one hit and striking out one. Didier Fuentes earned the win, improving to 7-2. Brooks Raley took the loss for Philadelphia and fell to 5-7. Chase Shugart threw 1 1/3 hitless innings for the Phillies, while José Alvarado struck out two in two-thirds of an inning. Alex McFarlane also threw a scoreless inning for Philadelphia.

Philadelphia finished with seven hits, while Atlanta had 11. Both teams grounded into two double plays. The Phillies had chances late, including the bases-loaded opportunity in the 11th, but could not add an insurance run. Atlanta’s ability to answer in each extra inning kept the pressure on Philadelphia and eventually produced the walk-off finish. The Braves used 12 position players, and three of their four extra-inning runs were scored by pinch-runners.

Philadelphia pitchers combined for 16 strikes, 54 balls and 16 balls in play, while Atlanta pitchers combined for 20 strikes, 53 balls and 20 balls in play. Matt Olson finished 1 for 4 with a home run and one RBI. Harris, Dubón, Albies, Riley, Murphy and Kim all contributed key moments in the Atlanta attack. For Philadelphia, Hill’s three-RBI double was the loudest offensive blow, and Harper and Arraez combined for important hits in the late innings. The Phillies’ bullpen kept the game within reach, but Atlanta found the decisive swing in the 11th.

The win gave Atlanta a five-game cushion in the NL East with the teams set to continue their series on Saturday and Sunday at Truist Park. Philadelphia will remain on the road for a series at Washington after that, while Atlanta will head to Chicago for a series against the Cubs. The outcome also continued a tight season series between the division rivals, who had split their previous four meetings in September before Friday’s extra-inning result.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Philadelphia 6, Atlanta 3. Interstat’s ELO system gave Atlanta a 50.1 percent probability to win. Atlanta had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 11 went under the over-under line of 7.5.