Dodgers secure Game 1 victory over Braves in NLDS

<p>In October, elite starting pitching wins postseason games.</p><p>For the Atlanta Braves, it was a bullpen game, while the Los Angeles Dodgers sent out two-time American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal. On Saturday afternoon at Dodger Stadium, Skubal led the way, striking out seven hitters while allowing one run on two hits and two walks over six innings in the Dodgers' 5-3 Game 1 NLDS win.</p><p>The Dodgers began their quest for a third straight World Series title with a win over the Braves, although the game did not start smoothly.</p><p>Dylan Dodd was the Braves’ starter, performing well over three scoreless innings, allowing just two hits. In the fourth inning, manager Walt Weiss turned to Victor Mederos, and the situation quickly changed.</p><p>Mederos got catcher Will Smith to fly out but then walked first baseman Freddie Freeman. With a runner on first and one out, Mederos threw a cutter that Teoscar Hernández hit 431 feet into the left-field bleachers, giving the Dodgers a 2-0 lead. Hernández admired his hit before tossing his bat toward the Dodgers’ dugout.</p><p>Dodgers right fielder Kyle Tucker followed with a bloop single to left field, prompting Weiss to remove Mederos from the game.</p><p>Weiss brought in A.J. Smith-Shawver, who retired the next two batters.</p><p>Skubal, on the other hand, retired 15 straight batters after allowing a leadoff single to All-Star designated hitter Drake Baldwin.</p><p>The scoreless streak ended when catcher Sean Murphy hit a solo home run off Skubal in the sixth inning, cutting the lead to 2-1.</p><p>After Murphy’s home run, the Braves continued to pressure Skubal, but he induced a fly ball from All-Star first baseman Matt Olson to maintain the 2-1 score.</p><p>In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Dodgers responded. With one out, Hernández hit a single, and Tucker followed by hitting a 408-foot home run, extending the lead to 4-1. Two batters later, third baseman Max Muncy added a solo shot, making it 5-1.</p><p>With their bullpen depleted after a three-game Wild Card Series win over the Philadelphia Phillies, the Braves had to rely on Smith-Shawver to manage the remaining innings.</p><p>In the top of the ninth inning, Ronald Acuña Jr. walked, and Ozzie Albies hit a two-run home run off Tanner Scott, narrowing the score to 5-3. However, Scott retired the next two batters. Manager Dave Roberts brought in Evan Phillips to secure the final out of the game.</p><p>Phillips walked Mauricio Dubón, bringing Austin Riley to the plate as the tying run, but got Riley to ground out to close the game.</p><p>The Dodgers will aim to build on their Game 1 win when they face the Braves on Sunday in Game 2.</p>