Braves' unlikely duo of ace Chris Sale and newest folk hero Ray Kerr combine to seal wild-card win over Phillies, deliver Atlanta to the NLD

In a bit of full-circle harmony, the Braves' most experienced pitcher and one of its least experienced came together to hold the line for Atlanta against the Phillies in a 6-2 victory . Ray Kerr started the no-tomorrow game, and if you have no idea who that is, you're not alone . Chris Sale finished the game, and if you don't know his whole story, well, you can visit his plaque in Cooperstown in a few years.

"Hopefully Ray Kerr became a bit of a household name tonight," Weiss said after the game. "He deserves it. He's got an amazing story."

Kerr's backstory went from cute anecdote to folk legend in the time it took him to throw 3 ⅓ scoreless innings against the Phillies, his longest — and, obviously, most critical — outing of the year. Now 32, he grew up in Reno, Nevada, one of six children, falling in love with fishing and bouncing in and out of foster care. He worked at a 7-Eleven and a movie theater before enrolling at Lassen Community College in California. He pitched well enough there and in the Alaska Baseball League that the Mariners and Marlins showed interest, and the Mariners offered him a minor-league slot and a $2,000 signing bonus in 2017.