Braves, White Sox, Yankees and Padres win Wild Card openers

The Braves, White Sox, Yankees and Padres won Tuesday's four Wild Card openers, putting the Phillies, Astros, Red Sox and Cubs one loss from elimination. Atlanta had to reverse an eighth-inning deficit; New York and San Diego won by shutout. The White Sox took the day's only road victory.

Each best-of-three series now has the same requirement for the trailing team: win Game 2 to keep playing. No series ended Tuesday, even where the score became lopsided.

Atlanta supplied the closest finish in its 5-3 comeback win. Austin Riley's three-run homer off Jhoan Duran turned a 3-2 Phillies lead into a 5-3 Braves win. Philadelphia had moved ahead an inning earlier on J.T. Realmuto's two-run triple, only to lose the advantage after Duran retired the first two batters in the eighth. The Braves' last scoring opportunity was enough to change which team would face elimination Wednesday.

In Houston, the White Sox built their lead before the Astros could settle their pitching. Colson Montgomery's fourth-inning homer made it 4-0, and Chicago finished a 6-3 win with Grant Taylor covering the final 2 1/3 innings. MLB's video shows Montgomery's drive off the batter's eye.

The contrasting bullpen outcomes leave Houston looking to Hunter Brown in Game 2. Chicago can advance with another win and has Sean Burke scheduled to start.

The Yankees and Padres got longer starts that left their opponents searching for offense. Cam Schlittler struck out 10 over 6 1/3 innings against Boston, while Ben Rice drove in six runs in New York's 9-0 victory. Rice's eighth-inning grand slam widened a game that had been only 2-0 through six innings.

Michael King carried a no-hit bid into the seventh against the Cubs and allowed one hit over seven scoreless innings in San Diego's 8-0 win. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado homered in the first, and Xander Bogaerts added another in the fourth. Unlike the late reversal in Atlanta, San Diego's lead began with its first batter.

Wednesday gives every losing club a chance to force a deciding third game. Boston also has Roman Anthony's status to monitor after he left Game 1 with right hand and wrist soreness. His exit adds an availability question to a lineup that finished the opener with three hits.