In October, having top-notch starting pitching is crucial for winning postseason games. For the Atlanta Braves, they opted for a bullpen approach, while the Los Angeles Dodgers relied on Tarik Skubal, a two-time American League Cy Young award winner. On Saturday afternoon at Dodger Stadium, Skubal delivered an impressive performance, striking out seven batters and allowing only one run, two hits, and two walks over six innings, helping the Dodgers secure a 5-3 victory in Game 1 of the National League Division Series.
The Dodgers kicked off their pursuit of a third consecutive World Series championship with a solid win against the Braves, although it wasn’t exactly a smooth start.
Dylan Dodd started for the Braves and was excellent through three scoreless innings, giving up just two hits. However, in the fourth inning, manager Walt Weiss brought in Victor Mederos, and things began to unravel. Mederos managed to get catcher Will Smith to fly out but then walked the star first baseman, Freddie Freeman. With a runner on first and one out, Mederos threw a cutter that was too much over the plate, and Teoscar Hernández made him pay, launching a 431-foot homer into the left-field bleachers for a 2-0 Dodgers lead. He seemed to relish the moment, admiring his hit before tossing his bat toward the dugout.
Following Hernández’s home run, Kyle Tucker hit a bloop single, prompting Weiss to pull Mederos from the game. A.J. Smith-Shawver came in and managed to quiet things down by retiring the next two batters.
Meanwhile, Skubal didn’t allow another hit after giving up a leadoff single to All-Star Drake Baldwin, retiring 15 consecutive hitters. His scoreless streak came to an end when catcher Sean Murphy connected with a 99 mph fastball for a solo home run that brought the score to 2-1 in the sixth inning.
But the Braves weren’t done yet. After Murphy’s homer, they rallied with walks by shortstop Ha-Seong Kim and second baseman Ozzie Albies, which put first baseman Matt Olson at the plate with two on and two outs. Skubal managed to escape further damage, inducing a weak fly ball from Olson.
As soon as the Dodgers came up to bat in the sixth, they quickly supported Skubal. Hernández hit a single, and then Tucker belted a home run off Smith-Shawver, extending their lead to 4-1.
Just two batters later, third baseman Max Muncy added to the fireworks with a solo home run, pushing the score to 5-1. With the Braves’ bullpen already overtaxed from a recent three-game Wild Card Series win over the Philadelphia Phillies, they had little choice but to stick with Smith-Shawver.
In the ninth inning, Ronald Acuña Jr. walked and Ozzie Albies hit a two-run homer off Tanner Scott, narrowing the score to 5-3. However, Scott quickly rebounded to retire the next two batters. Manager Dave Roberts then brought in Evan Phillips to finish the game. Phillips first walked Mauricio Dubón, placing Austin Riley as the tying run at the plate, but got him to ground out to finish it.
The Dodgers will aim to build on this win as they face the Braves again on Sunday in Game 2.
