- Spencer Strider earned his 17th MLB victory in a 4-1 win over the Phillies
- Austin Riley’s two-point blast helped cement this win and playoff spot
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The Atlanta Braves clinched their sixth straight NL East title, beating the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1 on Wednesday night behind Spencer Strider’s major league-leading 17th win and Austin Riley’s two-run homer.
Kirby Yates struck out Brandon Marsh to end the game and the players danced in crowds near the mound as Phillies fans booed them off the field. Yates earned his fifth save.
The Braves are now the first team to officially clinch a spot in the Major League Baseball playoffs. Four teams – the Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, Oakland A’s and Colorado Rockies – have already been eliminated.
Atlanta had special satisfaction winning on the same field at Citizens Bank Park where the Phillies eliminated them last October in the NL Division Series.
The Phillies won that series 3-1 – just like Atlanta won that four-game set.
The Atlanta Braves are heading to the playoffs after capturing their sixth straight NL East crown
Spencer Strider notched his 17th victory of this regular season – the most in baseball to date
A two-run blast from slugger Austin Riley helped clinch the division title for Atlanta
The Phillies lead the NL wild card and the teams could face each other in October.
Cristopher Sánchez (2-4) had a career-high 10 in 7 1/3 innings.
Strider (17-5) won for the fifth time in six starts, allowing one run and four hits in seven innings.
Strider struck out nine to bring his best MLB total to 259.
He also gave the bullpen the rest it needed after a rough first three games in Philadelphia.
