Braves finish Philadelphia and move on to the Dodgers

Atlanta beat Philadelphia 6-2 in the decisive Wild Card Game 3 and advances to face the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS.

The Braves broke open the winner-take-all game and eliminated a Philadelphia club that had finished six games behind Atlanta in the NL East. Atlanta’s bullpen was a major part of closing the series.

The reward is a much harder assignment: Los Angeles, chasing a third straight World Series title. The NLDS shifts the problem from surviving a short Wild Card set to matching the Dodgers’ depth across a longer series.

Atlanta finished the regular season 94-68 and as the NL East leader, so its exact division position remains 0.0 games behind the leader and 6.0 games ahead of Philadelphia. The next Braves game is the NLDS opener against the Dodgers.