Wild Card Series Game 1 winners, losers: Austin Riley plays hero, White Sox start strong (with help from Pope)

The Phillies' Jhoan Duran plan backfired and the Braves took a 1-0 series lead, while the White Sox out-bullpened the Astros Sep 29, 2026 at 8:35 pm ET • 5 min read The 2026 Major League Baseball postseason got underway with four Wild Card Series Game 1s on Tuesday. Since each Wild Card Series is a best-of-three affair, these were especially critical Game 1s. Here are the final scores and schedule for Tuesday's wall-to-wall playoff action so far: FINAL: Braves 5, Phillies 3 (box score); Atlanta leads series 1-0FINAL: White Sox 6, Astros 3 (box score); Chicago leads series 1-0To sum up all the Game 1 action, we're here to declare a winner and loser from each of the four games. You can find those authoritative and inarguable declarations just below. Winner: Austin Riley, BravesThe postseason has barely begun, and already the Atlanta third baseman has made it one to remember -- at least for himself and his Braves teammates. With the hosts down 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth and two on with two outs, Riley stepped in against lockdown closer Jhoan Duran, who was in his second inning of work. Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto set up for a fastball outside, and Duran unfurled it at 99.9 mph. However, he missed his spot and left it center-cut. Riley, who endured a frankly terrible 2026 regular season at the plate, didn't miss this time: The ball left the bat at 104.6 mph and traveled 385 feet to right center. Before Riley took that swing, the Braves had a 28.5% chance of winning Game 1. When the ball landed, the Braves had a 92.9% chance of winning, which they did. As the CBS Sports Research Desk notes, Riley has now homered in three of his last four postseason games against the Phillies. Overall, it was Riley's sixth home run in his 37 career postseason games. Loser: Trea Turner, PhilliesSure, one could home in on Jhoan Duran for this dishonor, but, really, his extended high-leverage relief outing turned on one bad pitch. One could perhaps ding Phillies manager Don Mattingly for stretching Duran and calling upon him in the seventh. That, though, doesn't seem fair. Duran is the Phillies' best reliever, and Mattingly called upon him to get some critical outs against the heart of the Atlanta order. It didn't work out, but it's an eminently defensible decision. Instead, the "loser" designation for this game goes to Turner. Not only did Turner go 0 for 3 with the plate (he reached once, via HBP), but he also got picked off by Chris Sale in a game where Philly baserunners were hard to come by (it was just the second successful pick-off by Sale all year). In the critical eighth, Turner played a key role in keeping the inning going and letting Riley bat. He's been miscast as a shortstop for years now, but his fielding in 2026 has reached new depths, whether your source is any of the advanced metrics or the eye test. With two outs, Michael Harris II tapped a slow-bouncing grounder that had an expected batting average of .220. Harris II is fast, but a shortstop with any kind of an arm -- Turner's arm does not belong on the left side of the infield -- probably nips him at first to end the inning. Instead, Turner made a terrible throw that almost went into the dugout. Following that play, Ozzie Albies was plunked, and then Riley hit his game-turning homer. If the Phillies had an adequate shortstop, the inning perhaps never gets that far. Winner: The PopeAnd also the White Sox, obviously. They went into Daikin Park, an intimidating postseason venue for visitors, and took the crowd right out of it. One run in the first, two runs in the second, and off they went. Every player in Chicago's starting lineup had reached base at least once by the top of the fifth inning.The real winner, though? Pope Leo XIV, of course. Game 1 ended around 2:25 a.m. Vatican time, so the Pope may have to wait until he checks the morning paper -- L'Osservatore Romano needs a White Sox beat writer at this point, no? -- to see the final score, but he'll like what he sees when he does. The White Sox are up 1-0 in the best-of-three series. Before the postseason, Pope Leo sent the White Sox a letter in which he wrote, "I willingly invoke the Almighty's abundant blessings upon you and your loved ones." Is that fair? It doesn't seem fair. The White Sox are using a PEP -- performance-enhancing pope. Pope Leo, born Robert Prevost, was born and raised on Chicago's South Side. He is a White Sox fan through and through. He was even spotted in the crowd during the television broadcast of Game 1 of the 2005 World Series. There are superfans and then, well, there's the Pope. The White Sox have the right man backing them this postseason.In all seriousness, the White Sox out-bullpen-gamed the Astros in Game 1 and received contributions from up and down the lineup. Five of their starting position players reached base multiple times and four drove in a run. Chicago really had the grind the last few weeks of the regular season to get here, but now that they're here, they're showing everyone they can really play. Loser: Houston's bullpen gameLook, the Astros didn't want to run a bullpen game in Game 1 (neither did the White Sox). They had to because they simply did not have a starter available. Hunter Brown threw 100 pitches on Friday. Hayden Wesneski threw 82 pitches on Saturday. Peter Lambert threw 41 pitches on Sunday after throwing 62 pitches on Thursday. Cristian Javier is on the injured list. I think the Astros would go back to calling themselves the Colt .45s before trusting Tatsuya Imai to start a postseason game. Options were limited.Unfortunate circumstances, indeed, but the bottom line is the Astros went with a bullpen game in Game 1, and it went terribly. They used eight relievers, four of whom were charged with a run, and four of whom threw at least 22 pitches. The bullpen game went poorly because the Astros lost, first and foremost, and also because several of the pitchers they used were used in a way that could impact his availability and/or effectiveness for Game 2 on Wednesday. That isn't great.I understand the strategy and I understand it was born out of necessity, but dueling bullpen games in Game 1 was such a drag. That isn't what postseason baseball should be. I did not enjoy the White Sox's bullpen game. They did at least win the game, though. The Astros won baseball's weakest division with an 81-81 record and didn't have a credible No. 4-5 type starter who could start Game 1 in a pinch. Game 1 and Houston's overall play is an excellent argument that too many teams get into the tournament.