The Los Angeles Dodgers opened their National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves with a 5-3 win Saturday at Dodger Stadium, where new ace Tarik Skubal worked six strong innings in triple-digit heat and three Dodgers hitters went deep in the best-of-five series opener.
Skubal allowed two hits and one run over six innings, striking out seven and walking two across 94 pitches, according to ESPN's recap of the game. The only run he surrendered came on a solo home run by Atlanta catcher Sean Murphy. Dodger Stadium's announced crowd of 50,194 endured first-pitch temperatures that reportedly reached 100 degrees, with Skubal still working into the sixth inning before handing off to a four-man bullpen relay.
Teoscar Hernández, Kyle Tucker and Max Muncy each homered for Los Angeles, with Hernández and Tucker driving in two runs apiece. Atlanta got a two-run shot from Ozzie Albies to go with Murphy's blast, but starter Dylan Dodd's three scoreless innings were erased when relievers Victor Mederos and AJ Smith-Shawver combined to allow five runs over the next three frames. Dodgers closer Tanner Scott made the ninth inning tense, giving up two runs before Evan Phillips retired the final batter for the save. Relievers Brock Stewart and Alex Vesia had combined for two scoreless innings ahead of Scott, meaning Los Angeles' bullpen allowed runs in only one of its four innings of work.
The Dodgers finished the regular season 100-62, best in the National League, while the Braves arrived as a 94-68 wild-card qualifier that had eliminated the Philadelphia Phillies in the opening round just two nights earlier.
A Trade-Deadline Bet Pays an Early Dividend
Skubal, a two-time American League Cy Young Award winner, arrived in Los Angeles on Aug. 1 in one of the summer's biggest trades, when the Detroit Tigers sent him west in exchange for outfield prospect Zyhir Hope and right-handers River Ryan and Brady Smith. The move, later finalized by both clubs, further stacked a Dodgers roster that entered the deadline as a favorite to win the World Series. Skubal, who missed time earlier this season after elbow surgery, is set to become a free agent once the postseason ends.
Saturday marked Skubal's first career postseason start in a Dodgers uniform, and it came in exactly the kind of high-leverage setting the trade was built for. He is the first pitcher to win back-to-back American League Cy Young awards since Pedro Martínez in 1999 and 2000, and his six-inning, one-run line Saturday matched the form that made him the sport's most dominant left-hander in Detroit — even while pitching through the hottest conditions of the day at a stadium with no retractable roof.
Three Other Division Series Also Opened Saturday
The Dodgers-Braves opener was one of four Division Series games played Saturday across both leagues. The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-0 on the road, the Tampa Bay Rays edged the New York Yankees 1-0 in a pitchers' duel that saw Gerrit Cole take the loss, and the Milwaukee Brewers held off the San Diego Padres 3-2 after American Family Field's retractable roof knocked down a ball that appeared headed for a go-ahead, ninth-inning home run, according to ESPN's scoreboard from the day's games.
Atlanta now needs to even its series against Los Angeles to avoid an 0-2 hole. Game 2 is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET Sunday at Dodger Stadium, with the series shifting to Truist Park in Atlanta for Game 3 should the Braves keep it alive. A second straight loss would put Atlanta's season on the brink heading into the middle of next week.
