Dodgers top Braves 5-3 in NLDS opener behind Skubal, three home runs

Tarik Skubal held Atlanta to one run over six innings and home runs by Teoscar Hernández, Max Muncy and Kyle Tucker gave Los Angeles a 5-3 NLDS Game 1 win.

The Los Angeles Dodgers opened their postseason with a 5-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Saturday in Game 1 of the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium. It was the Dodgers' first playoff contest of 2026, and three home runs supplied the offense behind a strong start from Tarik Skubal. The result put Los Angeles in front in the series.

Skubal worked six innings of one-run ball and struck out seven in the series opener. The only blemish on his line arrived in the top of the sixth inning, when Sean Murphy went deep to account for Atlanta's only run against him.

The assignment also carried personal meaning for Skubal. It was the first time in his career that he pitched a postseason game in his home ballpark, as each of his four previous playoff outings came on the road during his years with the Detroit Tigers.

Skubal dealt with more than the Atlanta lineup, taking the mound during a heat wave that blanketed Los Angeles. Speaking to Sonja Chen of MLB.com, he acknowledged the conditions but treated them as irrelevant, noting that the Braves were competing in the same weather. He added that the temperature should not shape a pitcher's mentality or approach, and that the job was simply to keep playing and stay hydrated.

Teoscar Hernández got the scoring started with a two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning, putting Los Angeles in front. His 2026 regular season had been a grind, with a hamstring injury costing him roughly a month and limiting his power until a strong finish in September.

After the game, Hernández discussed his October approach with announcer John Smoltz, addressing his ability to shift gears and come through in key situations. He contrasted the regular season, when he tries to make the most of three at-bats, with the playoffs, where he focuses on each pitch as its own moment and sets aside whatever happened in earlier trips to the plate.

Max Muncy added a home run of his own, the 17th of his postseason career. As Thomas L. Murray of the California Post reported, the drive set a Dodgers franchise record for career playoff home runs, giving Muncy more than any player in the club's history.

Kyle Tucker delivered the third Los Angeles homer, a two-run shot that proved decisive in a two-run game. Tucker had struggled badly at home during the regular season, a problem Saturday's swing began to fix, and Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times wrote that Tucker has a chance to become an improbable hero of the NLDS.

The series remains at Dodger Stadium for the next game between the clubs. Atlanta visits Los Angeles on Sunday, October 4, at 8:00 PM EDT, and the matchup will be broadcast on FS1.