We have the same Wild-Card playoff schedule for Game 2s around the majors Wednesday as we did Tuesday, which means the first of the quartet is Phillies at Braves with a 2 p.m. ET first pitch from Truist Park. Philadelphia's season is on the line after a crushing opening loss, but the Phils have their ace on the hill in lefty Cristopher Sanchez.
Bet $5+ on any of today's MLB games to get $150 in bonus bets at DraftKings Sportsbook: It will be another lovely sunny afternoon in Atlanta, with winds blowing out at 7 mph. There are almost dead-even handle and betting splits on the two close money lines at DraftKings but heavy action on the Phillies -1.5 at +157. On the total of 7, 68% of handle and 83% of bets are on the Over.
A possible winner-take-all Game 3 is scheduled at the same time Thursday, but know this: Philadelphia has never won a postseason series after losing Game 1, going 0-8 in those situations. That shocked me, honestly. It lost Game 1 of the 2025 NLDS to the Dodgers and the opener of the 2024 NLDS to the Mets and fell in four games in both series.
By comparison, Atlanta is 18-4 all-time in series when winning the opener and has won the past four – although not since the 2021 World Series. In this format, the team that wins Game 1 is 15-1 in terms of winning the series. Fans can try MLB betting on the best sports betting apps and get bonuses.
The SportsLine Projection Model also has picks on games like Phillies-Braves from its 10,000 simulations, and our experts also offer insights on games every day. FanDuel SGP price: +119 (subject to change) What a great Game 1, with the Braves winning 5-3 on a two-out, three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth by Austin Riley, who had a disappointing season. Perhaps we shouldn't have been surprised, as no team scored more runs from the eighth inning on than Atlanta this season.
Riley's heroics came after the Phillies took a 3-2 edge on an incredibly unlikely two-RBI triple by catcher JT Realmuto. He had no triples this season and became the first No. 9 hitter in postseason history with a go-ahead triple in the seventh inning or later. There apparently was no major thought to starting Sanchez (18-7, 2.91 ERA) on three days' rest Tuesday in what would have been a spectacular matchup of southpaws against Chris Sale – Sanchez probably finishes second in this year's Cy Young voting behind Milwaukee's Jacob Misiorowski and Sale third.
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