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Braves squander Chris Sale's gem but beat Phillies anyway, thanks to Austin Riley’s redemptive homer 

The Atlanta Braves opened their wild-card series at home with a hard-fought victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, overcoming a late deficit to secure a crucial win. Ace pitcher Chris Sale delivered a strong performance with nine strikeouts over six-plus innings, though a fielding miscue and a triple by J.T.

Realmuto temporarily put Philadelphia ahead in the seventh inning. Despite struggling offensively throughout the regular season, Austin Riley turned his campaign around by smashing a dramatic three-run home run off closer Jhoan Duran in the bottom of the eighth.

Manager Walt Weiss acknowledged the unpredictable nature of postseason baseball as the team survived an early scare from their divisional rivals, with Bryce Harper also facing intense hostility from the home crowd.

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