SANDY SPRINGS (Interstat) — Austin Riley hit a three-run homer off Jhoan Duran with two outs in the eighth inning, and the Atlanta Braves rallied past the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 on Tuesday afternoon in Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series at Truist Park. A crowd of 30,127 watched the Braves take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series. The game lasted 2 hours, 26 minutes.

Atlanta improved to 97-69, while Philadelphia dropped to 90-76. In the history of the best-of-three Wild Card Series, teams taking a 1-0 lead have gone on to win the series 21 of 24 times, including 17 two-game sweeps. Home teams have won all nine series in which they have gone ahead 1-0, including eight sweeps. The Phillies, who won 90 games in the regular season, had won the final game of their regular-season schedule against Tampa Bay, but they could not carry that momentum into the opener. The Braves, who won 97 games, used a patient approach against Philadelphia’s bullpen and waited until the eighth inning to strike.

Philadelphia opened the scoring in the first. Trea Turner struck out swinging, Kyle Schwarber walked, and Bryce Harper struck out swinging. Alec Bohm then doubled to center field, driving in Schwarber for a 1-0 lead. Derek Hill flew out to end the inning. Atlanta went down in order in the bottom half when Drake Baldwin grounded out, Ronald Acuña Jr. flew out to left, and Matt Olson struck out swinging.

The Braves answered in the second. Mauricio Dubón doubled to left, moved to third on Michael Harris II’s sacrifice bunt, and scored when Mike Yastrzemski singled to center. Ozzie Albies also walked, but Dubón was thrown out at home on Austin Riley’s fielder’s choice. Ha-Seong Kim struck out on a foul tip to end the inning. The game remained tied as both starters settled in.

Jesús Luzardo started for Philadelphia and allowed one earned run on three hits over five innings. He walked one and struck out six. Luzardo retired the side in order in the third, worked around a single and a hit batter in the fourth, and stranded a runner in the fifth. Philadelphia got a two-out double from Edmundo Sosa in the fifth, but Realmuto struck out swinging to end the threat. Chris Sale started for Atlanta and struck out nine over 6 1/3 innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits and one walk. Sale’s strong start kept Atlanta close, but he did not figure in the decision. Sale had struck out 10 over 5 2/3 innings in his previous start, and he was sharp early against Philadelphia.

Atlanta took a 2-1 lead in the sixth. Harris singled with one out, and Albies tripled to center field to score him. Riley grounded out, and Yastrzemski struck out swinging. Philadelphia moved ahead in the seventh. Bryan De La Cruz was hit by a pitch, and Bryson Stott singled. After Justin Crawford flew out, J.T. Realmuto tripled to right field, scoring De La Cruz and Stott for a 3-2 Phillies lead. The two runs were charged to Sale, while Didier Fuentes finished the inning for Atlanta by retiring Trea Turner on a flyout.

Duran entered for Philadelphia and kept Atlanta off the board in the seventh, striking out Dominic Smith and retiring Drake Baldwin and Acuña. In the eighth, Duran retired Olson on a lineout and Dubón on a flyout before Harris singled to shortstop. Albies was then hit by a pitch after Atlanta challenged the call, which was upheld. Riley followed with a drive to right-center field that cleared the fence and brought home Harris and Albies. Yastrzemski grounded out to end the inning, but the damage was done.

Dylan Lee earned the win with a scoreless top of the eighth, striking out Schwarber and retiring Harper and Bohm. Raisel Iglesias recorded his 37th save with a scoreless ninth. He allowed a leadoff single to Brandon Marsh, then got De La Cruz to ground into a double play and Stott to fly out to left. Duran took the loss, falling to 2-7 after allowing three earned runs on two hits over two innings while striking out one. Lee improved to 7-1. Alex McFarlane pitched one inning for Philadelphia and allowed one earned run on two hits with two strikeouts. Fuentes allowed one hit in two-thirds of an inning for Atlanta.

Riley finished 1 for 3 with a home run and three RBIs. Harris had three hits and scored twice. Albies went 1 for 2 with a triple and one RBI. Realmuto was 1 for 3 with a triple and two RBIs. Bohm doubled and drove in Philadelphia’s first run. Stott and Marsh also singled for the Phillies. Edmundo Sosa doubled for Philadelphia. Kyle Schwarber singled and scored a run. For Atlanta, Yastrzemski had a run-scoring single, and Acuña reached base on a hit by pitch.

The Phillies had six hits, while the Braves finished with seven. Philadelphia’s bullpen could not hold the late lead after Realmuto’s go-ahead triple in the seventh. Atlanta’s comeback gave the Braves the series edge and put Philadelphia in a must-win situation for Game 2. The Braves’ victory was their first of the postseason and continued a recent trend of home success in the Wild Card Series when a team takes the opener. Atlanta’s bullpen closed the final two innings without allowing an earned run, and the Braves defense turned a double play in the ninth to seal the win. Atlanta also improved to 4-3 against Philadelphia in their most recent head-to-head meetings this season, though the Phillies had won the final regular-season matchup between the teams.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Philadelphia 4, Atlanta 8. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Atlanta with a 51.3 percent probability to win. Atlanta had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 8 went over the over/under line of 6.5.