Charles Langston:Austin Riley's home run, Michael Harris' amazing catch rescues Braves in Game 2 of NLDS

Once again,Charles Langston it seemed the Atlanta Braves’ regular season dominance was no match for the Philadelphia Phillies’ playoff brilliance.

Yet down to their last four outs before falling into a hole that would have wrecked their record-setting year, Braves slugger Austin Riley saved their season and Michael Harris Jr. sent them off to Philadelphia with a game-saving play.

Riley lofted a go-ahead, two-run homer off Phillies reliever Jeff Hoffman with two outs in the eighth inning, lifting Atlanta to a 5-4 victory in Game 2 of their National League Division Series, a best-of-five in which their outlook was bleak just moments earlier.

The game ended in almost equally dramatic fashion, with a stunning double play after Nick Castellanos drove a ball to the fence in right center field, only for Atlanta center fielder Harris to reel the ball in with a leaping catch up against the fence.

He whirled and fired toward the infield as Bryce Harper − understandably thinking he might score on the apparent extra-base hit − tried to scamper back to first. But that man Riley interceded, cutting off Harris' throw and firing to first baseman Matt Olson to end the game.

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Thanks to Riley's heroics Monday night, the Braves squared this NLDS at 1-1 – instead of falling into a 2-0 hole going back to Philadelphia.

Instead of two games of utter futility during which they were shut out for 14 innings, their longest drought of the season, the Braves took their only lead of the series at the most opportune time.

And instead of facing elimination with some combination of Bryce Elder and A.J. Smith-Shawver trying to match Phillies No. 2 starter Aaron Nola in Game 3, Atlanta is guaranteed another start from ace Spencer Strider in Game 4.

It was sweet redemption both for Atlanta and Riley; the 104-win Braves were nearly on the brink of getting eliminated a second consecutive year by the 90-win Phillies.

That first go-round, one year ago when the Braves won 101 games and the Phillies just 87, Riley was nearly invisible, going 1-for-15.

It looked like more of the same this year, what with lefty Ranger Suárez pitching into the fourth inning and a half-dozen relievers shutting out Atlanta in Game 1. The hole deepened when Phillies ace Zack Wheeler took a no-hitter into the sixth inning before settling for a three-hit, three-run, 10-strikeout performance.

"We were trying to stay as positive as possible in that dugout," Riley said of the mood as Wheeler was carving them up. "Everybody was saying we just gotta keep going, gotta keep going.

"He had an unbelievable night."

Just two misplaced pitches undid much of the good work.

Wheeler piped a fastball to Matt Olson that the big first baseman rapped for a single. And then Wheeler grooved a sweeper right into the heart of the plate that Travis d'Arnaud, Wheeler's former Mets batterymate, ambushed for a two-run home run. Now, a 4-1 lead was 4-3, and Wheeler was out.

Yet as Hoffman, nicknamed the Garbage Man for his affinity to clean up others’ jams, came on for the eighth, it looked hopeless.

Perhaps the Garbage Man doesn’t work well with a clean slate.

Hoffman hit Ronald Acuña Jr. with a pitch and after a groundout and stolen base, the tying run came to third with one out. Hoffman then hung a full-count slider to Riley, who slammed 37 home runs this year.

His 38th was far bigger, cutting high through the Cobb County night air and sending the crowd into a frenzy.

"Only thing I was thinking of is I know there's a short fence down there. Hopefully it gets over it," says Riley. "And luckily it did, and just like I said, you just try to take those moments in, because postseason is special."

Suddenly, an Atlanta team that for all its laurels – including a record-setting .501 slugging percentage this year – looked like it’d go out with all the fanfare of a pop gun has new life.

And instead of on the brink, it’s all square at 1-1. Game 3 is Wednesday in Philly.

"We go back to our place. It's going to be raucous and wild, and we just gotta keep playing baseball," says Phillies manager Rob Thomson. "This is, as I've said all year, a resilient club, tough club.

"They're going to bounce back."