Tarik Skubal goes six innings as the Los Angeles Dodgers win Game 1 of the National League Division Series over the Atlanta Braves.
Game 1 of the National League Division Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves on Saturday could only be described as a sweltering display of baseball.
Though you can also use that terminology for the egregious heat index that hovered over Dodger Stadium — temperatures reaching up to 103 degrees — it was the Dodgers who would feel the cool breeze of a 5-3 series-opening victory.
Trade Deadline acquisition Tarik Skubal was tasked with opening things up in Game 1 for Los Angeles, with the Braves' righty-lefty split being the main outlier for skipper Dave Roberts.
Skubal used the heat to his advantage, cranking the temperature on his accord with a blistering fastball that blew by Atlanta hitters. Topping out at 101.1 on his heater, the two-time Cy Young Award winner struck out seven across six innings while giving up just one earned run.
At one point, Skubal retired 15 straight hitters, but that was snapped after Sean Murphy's solo home run in the top of the sixth.
3, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) reacts during the fifth inning of game one of the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectThe entirety of the Dodgers' offense came via the long ball. Out of this, the two hottest bats in the month of September were the biggest benefactors.
Teoscar Hernández, who had himself a great last month of the season with a .965 OPS, kickstarted the scoring with a towering two-run shot to left-center field in the bottom of the fourth.
Oct 3, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernandez (37) reacts after hitting a two-run home run during the fourth inning of game one of the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Uniqlo Field at Dodger Stadium. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectKyle Tucker followed up with a two-run shot of his own in the bottom of the sixth that responded to Murphy's home run, and Max Muncy, the Dodgers postseason home run leader with 16 at the time, launched a solo shot in the same frame for number 17.
In a non-save situation, Roberts decided to go with Tanner Scott in the ninth that was set up by two perfect frames of work submitted by Alex Vesia and Brock Stewart.
Scott gave up a two-run shot to Ozzie Albies before recording the first out of the inning. He would get two quick outs following the blast, but Roberts would poke into his bullpen and call upon Evan Phillips en route to his first save of the postseason.
With the win, the magic number of wins to three-peat drops down to 10. Along with the win, Los Angeles has won the last six-of-seven series playoff series openers during their tenure of back-to-back World Series titles.
Blake Snell is slated to toe the rubber in Game 2 on Saturday, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto is lined up for Game 3 at Truist Park.
