Dodgers Beat Braves 5-3 in NLDS Game 1 as Skubal Dominates in 100-Degree Heat

The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 5-3 in Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Saturday at Dodger Stadium, taking a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series. Tarik Skubal allowed one run over six innings in 100-degree heat, and home runs from Teoscar Hernandez, Kyle Tucker and Max Muncy supplied all five Los Angeles runs. The win starts the Dodgers’ attempt to become the first team to win three straight championships since the New York Yankees from 1998 to 2000, a run that would also extend their place on the list of most World Series wins.

How did the Dodgers beat the Braves 5-3 in Game 1?

Los Angeles waited out Atlanta’s opener, then hit the bullpen. Dylan Dodd gave the Braves three scoreless innings, but Victor Mederos walked Freddie Freeman in the fourth and Hernandez drove a 431-foot two-run homer to left-center, according to the Associated Press. Atlanta cut it to 2-1 in the sixth, then Tucker hit a two-run homer and Muncy a solo shot off AJ Smith-Shawver in the bottom of the inning to make it 5-1.

The format rewards that kind of depth: in how the MLB playoffs work, a Division Series is only five games, so a Game 1 win with the ace used efficiently puts the pressure straight onto the trailing team’s pitching plan for Game 2.

How dominant was Tarik Skubal in the heat?

Skubal was the best player on the field in the worst conditions. He allowed one run on two hits, struck out seven and walked two over six innings, and held Atlanta to one hit through five scoreless innings, Reuters reports. His only damage was Sean Murphy’s 421-foot solo homer in the sixth.

This was Skubal’s first postseason start for Los Angeles after arriving from Detroit in a trade just before the August 3 deadline, and his first home playoff start anywhere: his previous postseason starts all came on the road for the Tigers. The AP notes his 63 strikeouts are the second-most in a pitcher’s first seven postseason appearances, behind Bob Gibson’s 74, the kind of line that belongs in any debate about the best pitchers in MLB right now and the record list for most strikeouts by a pitcher.

Why did Atlanta open with its bullpen?

The Braves’ plan was shaped by the round before. Atlanta needed three games to beat Philadelphia in the Wild Card Series, and used ace Chris Sale in relief in the deciding game, leaving its rotation out of order for the NLDS opener. Dodd’s three scoreless innings made the plan look sound until Mederos entered in the fourth.

That is the hidden cost of the Wild Card round for a team that does not sweep: every extra game burns the pitchers the next round depends on. Atlanta managed only four hits all game, and its two homers came too far apart to change the shape of it.

How close did the Braves come in the ninth inning?

Close enough to force Los Angeles to use a second reliever. Ronald Acuna Jr. singled off Tanner Scott to open the ninth, and Ozzie Albies followed with a 432-foot two-run homer that cut the lead to 5-3. Scott recorded two outs, then Evan Phillips walked Mauricio Dubon to bring the tying run to the plate before retiring Austin Riley on a groundout to short for the save, according to Reuters.

The rally matters for Game 2 because it forced the Dodgers’ late-inning arms to work in extreme heat, and it showed Atlanta’s lineup can still do damage against the back of the Los Angeles bullpen even on a four-hit day.

What happens next in the series?

Game 2 is Sunday evening at Dodger Stadium, with an extreme heat warning still in effect. Blake Snell is scheduled to start for Los Angeles, while Atlanta had not announced a starter after Game 1. A Dodgers win would send the series to Atlanta with the Braves needing three straight victories; a Braves win would level it and take home-field advantage away.

For Atlanta, the path runs through its rotation: getting a conventional start, rather than another bullpen game, is the clearest route to slowing a Dodgers lineup that scored all five of its Game 1 runs on three swings.