Braves defeat Phillies 6-2, live updates: 2026 MLB Wild Card Game 3 highlights, results, analysis, watch on NBC and Peacock

The Braves used home runs from Michael Harris II, Matt Olson and Ozzie Albies on Thursday night, powering their way to a 6-2 victory over the Phillies in Game 3 of the Wild Card Series.

Harris set the stage early with a three-run blast off of Aaron Nola in the opening inning, providing all of the run support that the Braves would ultimately need. Ozzie Albies added on with a two-run blast off of Zack Wheeler in the fourth inning then Matt Olson swatted a solo homer in the eighth to provide the muscle.

Ray Kerr started as an opener for the Braves and was outstanding, allowing just one hit and one walk over 3 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball. Grant Holmes, Robert Suarez, Didier Fuentes and Dylan Dodd all did their jobs, passing the ball ultimately to Chris Sale with two outs in the eighth inning. Sale then recorded the final four outs, punching the Braves’ ticket to the NLDS and a matchup against the Dodgers in the NLDS starting on Saturday.

After the Phillies got a run back in the top half of the eighth inning, Braves’ manager Walt Weiss went to the bullpen to get Chris Sale to face Bryce Harper,

The star southpaw did as expected, getting Harper on strikes to end the eighth inning.

The Phillies will be facing at least a four-run deficit in the ninth inning, needing a miracle to keep their 2026 season alive.

The Phillies aren’t going down without a fight. With Dylan Dodd taking over on the mound for the Braves in the top half of the eighth inning, Derek Hill smacked a leadoff triple off the wall in right field.

He then scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Trea Turner, cutting their deficit to four runs at 6-2. That’s still a lot of work to do with only five outs to go, but it’s not over just yet.

Jonathan Bowlan looked as though he was going to cruise through the seventh inning unscathed, but after retiring the first two hitters, Matt Olson crushed a 1-0 changeup for a 416-foot (107.2-mph EV) solo shot that extended the Braves lead to 6-1.

An already Herculean task for the Phillies to come back in this one got exponentially harder.

Didier Fuentes took over for the Braves in the seventh inning and retired the Phillies in order, getting Bryan De La Cruz on a liner to center, Brandon Marsh on a ground ball to second and J.T. Realmuto on a bouncer to third.

If chasing four runs and being down to their final six outs wasn’t enough impending doom, Braves’ ace left-hander Chris Sale began to get loose in the bullpen and could come on for the final inning or two. He’ll almost certainly come on to face Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper in the eighth.

It’s going to take an epic comeback of sorts for the Phillies to turn this one around.

Zack Wheeler retired the first two hitters to open the sixth inning without issue, then issued back-to-back walks to Austin Riley and Ozzie Albies.

He was able to work his way out of trouble though, retiring Dominic Smith on strikes to end the threat.

The Phillies have nine outs remaining to try to stave off elimination. Let’s see if they can get the bats going.

Bryce Harper greeted Robert Suarez with a double into the right field corner that moved Kyle Schwarber up to third base. Alec Bohm then grounded out to shortstop, plating Schwarber with the Phillies’ first run of the night.

That’s all they were able to get though, and we’ll head to the home half of the sixth inning with the Phillies still facing an uphill battle trailing 5-1.

Grant Holmes opened the sixth inning by getting Trea Turner on a ground ball to shortstop. Kyle Schwarber then ripped a single into right field, prompting Braves’ skipper Walt Weiss to make the call to the bullpen.

It’ll be Robert Suarez coming on with a man on and a man out and a five-run lead to protect.

Holmes allowed just two hits and a walk over two-plus innings of work and is still responsible for the runner on first.

Zack Wheeler delivered a much-needed shutdown inning in the bottom of the fifth, retiring Ronald Acuna Jr. on a pop out to first base, Matt Olson on a pop out to short and Michael Harris II on strikes to end the inning.

With four innings to go, the Phillies are still staring at a 5-0 deficit and their season on the line.

Wheeler has thrown 49 pitches (32 strikes) over his three innings of work, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk. Expect the Phillies to ride him for as long as they can in this one.

The Phillies offense showed signs of life in the fifth inning, but they were unable to scratch out a run against Grant Holmes.

Bryan De La Cruz opened the inning with a single and Brandon Marsh followed with a walk, putting two men on with no outs. J.T. Realmuto flew out to right field and then Justin Crawford grounded into an inning-ending double play to end the threat.

That was the best scoring chance that the Phillies have had in the contest. They’ll need to start capitalizing on those opportunities soon, or it could be lights out on their 2026 season.

Things went from bad to worse for the Phillies in the fourth inning as Austin Riley worked Zack Wheeler for a one-out walk and then Ozzie Albies demolished an 0-1 fastball for a 419-foot (106.0-mph EV) two-run blast that increased their advantage to 5-0.

If it wasn’t already a dire situation for the Phillies, it definitely is now.

Ray Kerr did return to open the fourth inning, issuing a leadoff walk to Kyle Schwarber and then getting Bryce Harper to bounce into a fielder’s choice before giving way to Grant Holmes to do his bulk work out of the bullpen.

Kerr did an outstanding job for the Braves, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out two batters over 3 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball.

Holmes came on to get Alec Bohm on a comebacker that he handled without issue and then retired Bryson Stott on a three-pitch strikeout to end the top half of the fourth.

The Braves will take another crack against Zack Wheeler in the fourth inning, looking to add on to their 3-0 advantage.

Phillies’ ace right-hander Zack Wheeler came out of the bullpen to start the third inning against the heart of the Braves’ lineup.

He allowed a leadoff single to Ronald Acuña Jr., but battled back to get Matt Olson to bounce into a fielder’s choice. Wheeler then got Michael Harris II on a pop out to third base and Mauricio Dubon on a line drive to shortstop.

The Phillies have the heart of their lineup coming up to open the fourth inning and need to generate some offense if they’re going to get back in the game.

Ray Kerr continued his dominance of the Phillies in the third inning. He got J.T. Realmuto on a fly ball to center field, Justin Crawford on a ground ball to short and Trea Turner on a fly ball to left to end the inning.

With Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper due up to open the fourth inning, don’t be surprised to see Kerr come back out for at least two more batters.

He has given the Braves everything that they could have hoped for to this point. Kerr has thrown a season-high 38 pitches (26 strikes).

The Braves were able to chase Phillies’ starter Aaron Nola after just 1 2/3 innings of work.

Both Austin Riley and Ozzie Albies hit the ball hard, lining out to left field and right field respectively. Dominic Smith then followed with an infield single, prompting Phillies’ skipper Don Mattingly to go to his bullpen in the second inning.

Left-hander Tim Mayza then came on and retired Drake Baldwin on a ground ball to short to end the threat.

The Phillies are going to have to get at least 7 1/3 innings out of their bullpen if they’re going to stage a comeback here. Zack Wheeler has already been spotted getting loose in the Phillies’ bullpen and he could be the next to work with their season on the line.

It’s still 3-0 Braves heading to the third.

Braves’ left-hander Ray Kerr cruised through the second inning on Thursday, striking out Bryson Stott, getting Bryan De La Cruz on a ground ball to second base and Edmundo Sosa on a ground out to short.

He has allowed just one single through two scoreless innings thus far. Kerr has thrown just 28 pitches so far — 18 for strikes — and looks like he’ll be back out for the third inning.

The Braves will look to add on to their 3-0 lead in the home half of the second inning.

The Braves wasted no time taking early control of a must-win Game 3 against the Phillies on Thursday.

Ronald Acuña Jr. worked Aaron Nola for a one-out walk. Matt Olson followed by drawing a free pass as well. That set the stage for Michael Harris II who clobbered a 2-0 sinker for a 387-foot (100.5-mph EV) three-run blast to give the Braves a commanding early lead.

The Phillies will now really have their work cut out for them if they’re going to be able to stave off elimination.

The Phillies were unable to strike in the top half of the first inning on Thursday night. Kyle Schwarber smacked a one-out single into left field, but he was left stranded there as Bryce Harper went down on strikes and Alec Bohm bounced out to second base.

The home team is coming to bat looking to draw first blood in a must-win Game 3.

MLB.com’s Mark Bowman asked Braves’ manager Walt Weiss if it’s possible that left-hander Ray Kerr could face Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper twice during Game 3 of the Wild Card Series on Thursday. His response, “we’ll see how the game is going.”

Kerr is functioning as an opener in front of what’s likely to be Grant Holmes on Thursday. The 32-year-old southpaw has had tremendous success against this Phillies’ lineup though, including his last outing against them on September 13 where he allowed just one hit while punching out four batters over three scoreless innings. The Braves would be absolutely thrilled if they could get an effort like that out of him on Thursday.

Alternatively, if he struggles and gets bounced in the first inning, the Braves are going to really need Holmes to step up and carry the load before turning the game over to the bullpen.

Remember, catch all of the action on NBC and Peacock, where coverage begins at 7:30 PM.

After rallying late to defeat the Braves in Game 2 on Wednesday to fight another day, the Phillies will use a similar lineup against Ray Kerr, Grant Holmes and a host of Braves’ relievers on Thursday evening in Atlanta.

Edmundo Sosa was removed from Wednesday’s game due to a groin injury that he aggravated while hustling out an infield single. He’ll start at third base and bat seventh for the Phillies on Thursday evening.

Bryan De La Cruz will start in left field in place of Brandon Marsh. That’ll likely be just for one at-bat until Kerr is removed from the game, then the Phillies will swap to Marsh.

It’s a bit surprising that Garrett Stubbs isn’t starting behind the dish, as Aaron Nola has had far more success on the mound this season with Stubbs behind the dish than he has with Realmuto. That could all just be noise though.

No one on the Phillies’ roster has homered off of Ray Kerr, who will serve as an opener for the Braves on Thursday. As a club, the Phillies have hit just .160 (4-for-25) with two doubles (Derek Hill and Bryce Harper) and eight strikeouts against the 32-year-old southpaw. Kerr struck out four batters and allowed just one hit over three scoreless frames against the Phillies on September 13.

Grant Holmes is expected to work in a bulk role for the Braves behind Ray Kerr on Thursday. He has done a nice job against most of the Phillies’ lineup in a limited sample size. The one exception has been Trea Turner who has hit .364 (4-for-11) with a homer and a double against him.

Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto are each 2-for-8 (.250) lifetime with a homer against the Braves’ right-hander. Kyle Schwarber is just 2-for-11 (.182) against Holmes, with one of those hits being a home run.

With their 2026 season on the line on Thursday evening, the Braves have made a couple of changes to their starting lineup. Dominic Smith will make his first start of the series, serving as the designated hitter and batting ninth for the Braves. Smith has appeared as a pinch-hitter in each of the first two games, striking out in both of them. He’s 11-for-41 (.268) with a homer and six doubles in his career against Aaron Nola.

Mike Yastrzemski also returns to the starting lineup in left field. Yastrzemski started in Game 1 of the series, but sat against tough left-hander Cristopher Sanchez in Game 2 on Wednesday.

Sean Murphy and Ha-Seong Kim will be on the Braves’ bench to start the game. Kim started each of the first two games of the series at shortstop, going 0-for-3 with a walk, a run scored and a sacrifice bunt.

Braves’ super-utility man Mauricio Dubon will take over for Kim at shortstop after starting in left field in each of the first two games.

Keep an eye on Austin Riley in this one, as he has had tremendous success against Nola in his career — going 24-for-70 (.343) with seven homers and five doubles.

The entire baseball world will be focused on Truist Park on Thursday evening in a must-win Game 3 of the Wild Card Series between the Braves and Phillies.

It shouldn’t be noteworthy that the Braves have sold out Game 3 with their season on the line, but we saw thinner than expected crowds in the first two games.

The Braves came close to selling out Game 2 on Wednesday, with an announced attendance of 37,150. There were many more empty seats in Game 1 on Tuesday, with only 30,127 in attendance — far short of their capacity of 41,108.

It’ll be a packed house for the only game in town on Thursday evening. The excitement is palpable. For the Braves and the Phillies, everything comes down to this.