Braves, A’s end playoff series droughts to advance
The Braves are moving on in the playoffs for the first time in nearly 20 years, snapping a 10-series losing streak with a two-game sweep of the Reds on Thursday in Atlanta.
Atlanta won 5-0 in Game 2 of their National League wild-card series, finishing the series without allowing a single run in 22 innings.
Leading 1-0 heading into the bottom of the eighth, the Braves got two-run homers from Marcell Ozuna and Adam Duvall against Reds reliever Raisel Iglesias to break the game open.
Rookie starter Ian Anderson dazzled in his postseason debut, giving up just two hits across six scoreless innings with nine strikeouts. Will Smith, Chris Martin and Mark Melancon added scoreless innings of their own.
The Braves had lost their last 10 postseason series – dating to the 2001 NL Championship Series – including NLDS exits in 2018 and 2019.
Athletics 6, White Sox 4: Oakland got its first playoff series win since 2006 Thursday, outlasting the White Sox in the decisive Game 3 of their American League wild-card series.
Liam Hendriks, who threw 68 relief pitches over two games in 24 hours, struck out the side to strand the tying run at the plate, sending the A’s to Dodger Stadium for an ALDS matchup against the Astros.
The White Sox took a 3-0 lead off Mike Fiers and Oakland reliever Yusmeiro Petit.
But Sean Murphy’s two-run homer in the fourth dented the deficit.
Two bases-loaded walks put the A’s ahead, then the White Sox tied the score.
A catcher’s interference call drawn by Tommy La Stella keyed a rally that culminated in Chad Pinder’s two-run single.