Level 1 — Absolute Beginner
The baseball playoffs began on Tuesday. The Atlanta Braves played the Philadelphia Phillies.
The score was tied late in the game. Then Austin Riley came to bat in the eighth inning. He hit a home run with two other players on base.
That made the score 5 to 3. The Braves won the game. It was a very big moment for Riley.
Riley did not have an easy season. He hit only .219. But on Tuesday, he was the hero. The Braves now lead the series 1 to 0.
- playoffs
- Games played after the season to find the champion.
- inning
- One part of a baseball game.
- home run
- A hit that goes over the fence.
- hero
- The person who helps the team win.
- series
- A group of games between two teams.
- score
- The number of points each team has.
- season
- The months when a sport is played.
- bat
- To try to hit the ball.
Level 2 — Elementary
Austin Riley hit a three run home run in the eighth inning. It gave the Atlanta Braves a 5 to 3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies in the first game of their playoff series on Tuesday.
The homer came with two outs against Jhoan Duran, an All-Star closer who usually finishes games for the Phillies. After a short video review delay, Duran threw a fastball at 99.9 miles per hour. Riley hit it over the fence in right center field.
The win meant a lot to Riley. He had a hard regular season, with a batting average of .219 and 19 home runs. On Tuesday he changed that story in one swing.
In the American League, the Chicago White Sox beat the Houston Astros 6 to 3. The playoff round is short, so every game matters a lot.
- closer
- A pitcher who plays at the end of a close game.
- review
- A check of a play, often on video.
- fastball
- A very quick pitch.
- regular season
- The long part of the year before the playoffs.
- batting average
- A number that shows how often a player gets a hit.
- swing
- The move a player makes to hit the ball.
- outs
- Chances a team has before it stops batting.
- All-Star
- A player chosen as one of the best.
Level 3 — Intermediate
Austin Riley turned a tense opener into a Braves victory on Tuesday, launching a go-ahead, three-run homer off Phillies closer Jhoan Duran in the eighth inning to lift Atlanta to a 5 to 3 win in Game 1 of their National League Wild Card Series.
The blast came with two outs and after a review delay had stalled the game. Duran's first pitch afterward, a 99.9 mile per hour fastball over the middle of the plate, was sent just over the fence in right center. It was an especially sweet moment for Riley, whose regular season had been frustrating: a .219 average with 19 home runs.
The win gives Atlanta a 1 to 0 lead in a best of three series, meaning one more victory sends the Braves into the next round. In the American League, the Chicago White Sox opened with a 6 to 3 win over the Houston Astros, outmaneuvering them with a patchwork of relief pitchers.
October baseball tends to reward players who stay calm when the pressure is highest, and Riley's swing was a reminder that a single at bat can undo months of struggle.
- go-ahead
- Putting a team in the lead.
- opener
- The first game of a series.
- stall
- To stop or delay.
- frustrating
- Causing annoyance because things are not going well.
- relief pitchers
- Pitchers who replace the starter during a game.
- patchwork
- Made of many different parts put together.
- outmaneuver
- To gain an advantage over someone by clever moves.
- undo
- To cancel the effect of something.
Level 4 — Advanced
On a night when the margin for error was thin, Austin Riley delivered the decisive blow. His two out, three run homer off Phillies closer Jhoan Duran in the eighth inning turned a taut contest into a 5 to 3 Braves win in the opener of the National League Wild Card Series.
The timing carried an extra edge. A video review had interrupted play, and Duran's first pitch after the pause, a 99.9 mile per hour fastball down the middle, was launched just over the wall in right center. Riley had endured a bruising regular season, batting .219 with 19 home runs, and the swing offered a measure of redemption.
Atlanta now leads the best of three series 1 to 0 and needs one more win to advance. Elsewhere, the Chicago White Sox began their American League series with a 6 to 3 victory over the Houston Astros, out bullpenning an opponent that had needed the final day of the regular season to secure its division title.
Postseason baseball compresses a marathon into a sprint, and it routinely elevates players who have spent months in the shadows. Riley's homer will be replayed all week, and a team that trailed in the eighth now holds the initiative.
- margin for error
- The amount of room to make mistakes without losing.
- taut
- Tense and tightly balanced.
- bruising
- Very hard and painful.
- redemption
- The act of making up for earlier failure.
- bullpen
- The group of relief pitchers, or to use them heavily.
- postseason
- The playoff games after the regular season.
- compress
- To squeeze into a shorter space or time.
- initiative
- The advantage of being the one to act first.
Talk about this article with KatePractice this story's vocabulary in a real spoken conversation with your AI tutor