hawaiitribune_herald
In the opening game of the National League Division Series on Saturday, the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Atlanta Braves 5-3, powered by a dominant six-inning performance from Tarik Skubal and three home runs. Teoscar Hernandez, Kyle Tucker, and Max Muncy each homered as the Dodgers began their pursuit of a third consecutive championship, aiming to become the first National League team to achieve that feat since the New York Yankees from 1998 to 2000.
Skubal (1-0), acquired from the Detroit Tigers at the trade deadline, allowed one run on two hits with two walks and seven strikeouts in his first postseason start for Los Angeles. The Braves got home runs from Sean Murphy and Ozzie Albies, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Dodgers' offensive outburst. Atlanta had advanced past the wild-card round by defeating the Philadelphia Phillies and is seeking its first NLDS victory since winning the World Series in 2021.
Left-hander Dylan Dodd started for Atlanta and tossed three scoreless innings before giving way to Victor Mederos (0-1), who surrendered Hernandez's home run and recorded only one out in the fourth. On a scorching day with the temperature reaching 100 degrees at first pitch, Skubal allowed just one hit through his first five scoreless innings. Hernandez provided the initial lead with a two-run homer in the fourth, making it 2-0.
"I really don't care if I strike out in big situations. I always want to be the guy to be in those moments," Hernandez said. "I worked really hard for it, and I think the bigger the moment, the more focused I get. Just trying to put together a good at-bat for the team. Obviously if I get a good pitch to hit, I just try to put a good swing on it."
Atlanta finally broke through against Skubal in the sixth when Murphy homered to center, cutting the deficit to one run. But the Dodgers responded in the bottom half against AJ Smith-Shawver. Tucker launched a two-run homer, and two batters later, Muncy added a solo shot down the right-field line to push the lead to 5-1. Tucker's contribution came after a disappointing regular season in which his .715 OPS was lower than all but one Dodgers player with at least 90 games played. He is in the first year of a four-year, $240 million contract.
Albies brought the Braves within two runs in the ninth with a two-run homer off Tanner Scott. Evan Phillips then entered with two outs and walked Mauricio Dubon to bring the tying run to the plate, but he retired Austin Riley on a groundout to short to earn the save. "I thought we put up some competitive at-bats. Really nice swing from Murphy right there and then and then not giving up," Riley said. "With Ozzie, the two-run homer, that was encouraging. Just ran out of time today."
Key Analysis
Skubal's dominant outing and the Dodgers' power display set the tone for the series. Los Angeles looks to continue its championship pedigree, while Atlanta must find a way to solve the Dodgers' pitching and capitalize on scoring opportunities. Game 2 is scheduled for Sunday in Los Angeles.
Originally reported by hawaiitribune_herald.