Harris homer and Kerr start send Braves past Phillies into NLDS

The Atlanta Braves eliminated the Philadelphia Phillies with a 6-2 victory at Truist Park on Thursday, winning the deciding game of their National League Wild Card Series. Reports carried by Yahoo Sports detailed how an early Michael Harris II home run and a strong start from Ray Kerr put Atlanta in control.

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Kerr, a 32-year-old left-hander making his postseason debut, gave manager Walt Weiss a scoreless opening spell. Kyle Schwarber singled in the first inning, but Kerr prevented Philadelphia from scoring and struck out Bryce Harper. He then retired the side in order in both the second and third innings, keeping Atlanta's early advantage intact.

Harris supplied that advantage after Aaron Nola walked Ronald Acuña Jr. and Matt Olson in succession in the bottom of the first. Harris drove a three-run homer to right-center, giving the Braves a 3-0 lead before Philadelphia had completed an inning in the field. Nola was removed during the second after Dominic Smith singled, with Tim Mayza coming on to finish the inning.

Atlanta added to its lead against Zack Wheeler in the fourth. Austin Riley earned a walk before Ozzie Albies hit a two-run homer, stretching the margin to 5-0. Olson provided the Braves' third home run in the seventh, a solo drive to center that made it 6-1. Together, those three swings accounted for every Atlanta run.

Philadelphia's scoring came late and was not enough to close the gap. In the sixth, Schwarber singled off Grant Holmes and Harper doubled after Robert Suárez entered. Alec Bohm's groundout brought Schwarber home. Derek Hill later opened the eighth with a triple and scored on Trea Turner's sacrifice fly, cutting Atlanta's lead to four runs.

Chris Sale handled the final four outs. He struck out Harper to end the eighth, then returned for the ninth and worked around a leadoff single by Bohm. After Bryson Stott popped out, Sale struck out Bryan De La Cruz and pinch-hitter Otto Kemp to finish the game. Atlanta advances to face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the Division Series.