The Atlanta Braves are heading back to the NL Division Series for the first time since 2023 after defeating the Philadelphia Phillies 6-2 on Thursday night.
Atlanta Braves left-hander Ray Kerr seized the moment on Thursday night when manager Walt Weiss handed him the ball for Game 3 of the team's Wild Card faceoff against the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Braves exacted vengeance against their divisional opponent with a commanding 6-2 win in front of the Truist Park faithful, flipping the script after they were sent packing in 2023 when both teams met during the NL Division Series.
Kyle Schwarber greeted the 32-year-old Kerr with a first-inning single but Kerr held on to record two-straight outs including a clutch strikeout on star Bryce Harper to limit the traffic.
Ronald Acuña Jr. and Matt Olson kickstarted the Braves' offense that same inning with back-to-back walks while Michael Harris II crushed a three-run homer to right-center field off Phillies starter Aaron Nola, putting Atlanta ahead 3-0 early.
Atlanta chased Nola out of the game during the second when Dominic Smith reached on an infield single, but that didn't amount to anything when Drake Baldwin grounded out to end the inning.
Kerr's impressive night came to an end in the fourth shortly after Schwarber got to him once again with a four-pitch walk.
Ozzie Albies made sure Kerr's efforts weren't in vain, extending the Braves' lead with a two-run shot to right-center field for his fourth career postseason homer.
Schwarber forced another pitching change in the sixth, logging his second hit of the matchup off Atlanta right-hander Grant Holmes who was removed from the game for reliever Robert Suárez.
The Phillies' bats refused to go out quietly as Alec Bohm utilized excellent situational baseball, scoring Schwarber and moving Harper to third via a productive out. That was all they got when Suárez induced a flyout from Bryson Stott.
Wheeler battled back as well, freezing Smith on a nasty 86-mph splitter while also stranding a pair of Braves in Austin Riley and Albies.
Olson remained unfazed, further ruining the Phillies' night with a solo shot in the seventh to make it 6-1, Braves. Even then, Philadelphia countered once more when Trea Turner drove in Derek Hill with a sacrifice fly.
Bohm attempted to ignite a final rally in the ninth with another hit but All-Star Chris Sale didn't budge, stringing together a trio of outs to seal the Phillies' fate.
With the win, Kerr has compiled a 1.47 ERA and 0.60 WHIP while striking out 11 batters through 18.1 innings pitched since making his return to Atlanta from a season-ending Tommy John surgery in 2024 that caused him to miss all of 2025.
The Braves will look to keep their World Series bid going this weekend against the Los Angeles Dodgers starting this Saturday at 4 p.m. EDT.
