The Philadelphia Phillies blew two leads to the Atlanta Braves in Game 1, but a three-run home run by Austin Riley off Jhoan Duran was the nail in the coffin.
The Phillies took a one-run lead for the second time in the game in the seventh inning of Tuesday's contest. Riley's homer came in the eighth, and in the ninth inning, Raisel Iglesias came out and faced the minimum to finish the game.
The series is not over, but Bryce Harper admitted that letting that game slip away was tough.
"Yeah, that's a dagger," Harper said of Riley's late home run. "You know, obviously, we have a lead going into the eighth, with the best closer in the game on the bump. Riley just got to it. Just got to flush it as quick as possible and get into tomorrow."
The Phillies have Christopher Sánchez on the mound on Wednesday, and likely feel good about their chances to tie the series with him pitching. The Phillies went 23-10 with him pitching in the regular season, but lost both of his starts against the Braves.
Sánchez threw six innings against the Braves in April, allowing three runs, but none of them were earned. Sánchez gave up three earned runs in his last start against the Braves on Sept. 4. The Phillies will need Sánchez at his best tomorrow, or their season could be over.