Harris, Albies and Olson homer as Braves eliminate Phillies, 6-2

Michael Harris II gave Atlanta a three-run lead in the first inning, Ozzie Albies and Matt Olson added homers, and the Braves beat the Phillies 6-2 on Thursday night to win the deciding game of their National League Wild Card Series. Atlanta advances to face the Dodgers in the Division Series after taking the best-of-three matchup two games to one.

This was Thursday's only MLB postseason game. The other three Wild Card Series had already finished, leaving Atlanta and Philadelphia to decide the final Division Series berth.

Harris punishes Nola's early walks

Aaron Nola walked Ronald Acuña Jr. and Olson before Harris drove a three-run homer to right-center. ESPN's play-by-play measured the drive at 387 feet. One swing accounted for half of Atlanta's runs and put Philadelphia behind before the end of the first inning.

Harris' opening homer gave Atlanta a lead it would keep through the final out.

Nola lasted just 1⅔ innings. He allowed two hits, three runs and two walks, throwing 38 pitches. Tim Mayza recorded the final out of the second before Philadelphia turned to Zack Wheeler for four innings of relief.

Wheeler kept the game within reach, but Albies struck the second major blow in the fourth. His two-run homer scored Austin Riley and pushed Atlanta's lead to 5-0. The Braves had turned two of their first scoring opportunities into five runs, all on home runs.

Six pitchers protect the lead

Ray Kerr gave Atlanta 3⅓ scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk with two strikeouts. Grant Holmes followed him, and the Braves ultimately used six pitchers to cover the nine innings.

Philadelphia scored its first run in the sixth when Alec Bohm's groundout brought home Kyle Schwarber. Olson answered in the bottom of the seventh with a solo homer off Jonathan Bowlan. Atlanta's three homers produced all six of its runs; the teams each finished with six hits.

Trea Turner's sacrifice fly scored Derek Hill in the eighth, cutting the deficit to four. Chris Sale finished the game, working 1⅓ scoreless innings with three strikeouts. He joined Holmes, Robert Suarez, Didier Fuentes and Dylan Dodd behind Kerr in the Braves' pitching sequence.

Schwarber went 2-for-3 with a walk for Philadelphia. Dominic Smith supplied two of Atlanta's six hits, while Harris drove in three runs and Albies drove in two. The Phillies never drew closer than four runs after Albies' fourth-inning homer.

Atlanta claims the last Division Series place

Philadelphia had extended the series with Wednesday's 4-3 victory in 10 innings. Thursday's early deficit left the Phillies chasing again, and Atlanta's pitching held the advantage through the final out.

Yahoo Sports independently confirmed the final result and Atlanta's next opponent. The Braves now move into a best-of-five series against Los Angeles, with Game 1 scheduled for Saturday.