Cronenworth sent the ball 368 feet to right field during the bottom of the fifth inning.
The run cuts into the momentum the Milwaukee Brewers started building in the top of the inning.
Milwaukee had just evened the score with a run scored in the top of the fifth inning, but the Padres managed to prevent the game from getting out of hand as the Brewers were in position add more runs with the bases loaded.
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 29: Pedro Ramirez #75 of the Chicago Cubs bats in the National League Wild Card game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on September 29, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s Tuesday evening here at BCB After Dark: the coolest club for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in and sit with us for a while. We leave the light on for a reason. There’s no cover charge. We still have a few tables available. The hostess will seat you now. Bring your own beverage.
BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.
The last time we met, I asked you about whether you’d give outfielder Ian Happ a qualifying offer. The vote was very close, reflecting the divided opinion of Happ that seems to be a fixture of Cubs fandom these days. In any case, 51 percent of you said no, you wouldn’t give Happ a qualifying offer and 49 percent of you said you would. So yeah, really close.
On Tuesdays, I don’t normally do any movie stuff. But I did want to take a moment to remember Eva Marie Saint, who passed away today at the age of 102. Saint won a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for On the Waterfront, which was her on-screen debut. Of course, she also co-starred with Cary Grant in Alfred Hitchcock’s North By Northwest, which won our Hitchcock tournament a few years ago. But she was more than just her two most famous films and she had a long career that continued into her nineties.
So rest in peace, Eva, and thank you for all your performances that made so many people happy.
Tonight we have one of those NPR Tiny Desk concerts featuring Chilean saxophonist Melissa Aldana and Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba. The two are joined by Pablo Menares on bass and Kush Abadey on drums. This is from just last week as part of Latin Music Month.
Welcome back to everyone who skips all that jazz.
The Cubs have a very good infield of Alex Bregman, Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner and Michael Busch. They also have two solid reserve infielders in Pedro Ramírez and Matt Shaw, both of whom would start for many other teams. Shaw, of course, started for the Cubs in 2025.
Six good infielders is nice to have, but it’s a bit of a luxury. While Matt Shaw played more outfield than infield in 2026 and the Cubs have experimented with Ramírez in the outfield, both Shaw and Ramírez’s best positions are second and third base. And while both of them have the potential to be pretty good hitters for a second or third baseman, they aren’t projected to have the kind of power that contending teams want out of their corner outfielders.
This is just a roundabout way of saying that Shaw and Ramírez might be more valuable to another team than they are to the Cubs. And in that case, it might be a good idea to see if a team would be willing to send the Cubs a pitcher or an outfielder for one or both of them.
The other point is that Shaw and Ramírez are pretty similar players and it’s not always great to have two similar players on the roster. Sure, it’s nice to have a backup if one or the other gets hurt, like Shaw did for a chunk of this year, but if they’re both healthy, they’ll be fighting each other for playing time. (Not literally. No punches will be thrown.) Both Shaw and Ramírez had a similar OBP last year (.327 to .321) and a similar slugging percentage. (.410 to .402). We can argue about which one is the better fielder. Ramírez had much better defensive metrics last year, but Shaw was also forced to play a majority of his games out of position as a corner outfielder. Shaw was much better defensively in 2025 as an everyday third baseman.
Ramírez is also two years younger than Shaw and has one more year of control. That might mean Ramírez would bring back more in trade, despite the two being so similar in many other ways.
So which one of these two players would you try to trade this winter? Shaw or Ramírez? Or would you trade neither? Both?
Obviously there’s an answer of “Whichever one brings back the most.” I’m going to ask you to take into consideration which one you think will bring back more in trade. So if you are willing to deal the one you think is better for a better return, vote for that player. I’m not going to tell you which one that is. Like I said, I think the two are pretty similar except that Ramírez is younger.
So what would you do with Matt Shaw and Pedro Ramírez?
Thank you for stopping by tonight. We were so glad to see you. Tell your friends about us. Get home safely. Recycle any cans and bottled. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow night for more BCB After Dark.
SAN DIEGO — Milwaukee Brewers catcher William Contreras cut into the San Diego Padres' lead Tuesday with a solo home run during the fourth inning of Game 3 of the NLDS.
Contreras slowly trotted around the bases, even stopping briefly to celebrate, before crossing home plate at Petco Park.
The home run served as a quick response to the Padres, who scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the third inning.
The Padres led the game 2-1 as action headed to the bottom of the fourth.
It was the second home run of the series for Contreras, who hit a go-ahead solo home run to center field in the bottom of the seventh inning to break a 2-2 tie in Game 1 on Oct. 3.
Shohei Ohtani has not hit a home run since Aug. 18. The Los Angeles Dodgers are 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position in the National Division Series.
And they are now one win away from the NL Championship Series anyway.
That’s what all the money really buys.
On Tuesday night, it bought the insurance of having Enrique Hernandez.
Dave Roberts dropped Ohtani to fifth in the lineup Tuesday night, the first time he’d hit there this postseason. Ohtani struck out with two runners on in the first inning. The Dodgers still won 3-1 and now lead the National League Division Series 2-1.
Hernandez won it.
He’s making just $4.5 million on a one-year deal. He played 41 games in the regular season after elbow surgery and a torn oblique. He was only in the lineup Tuesday night because Roberts benched a slumping Tommy Edman. In the fourth inning, he hit a Chris Sale changeup for a two-run homer, the 17th postseason home run of his career. Freddie Freeman added a solo shot two batters later.
Every contender pays for stars. The Dodgers pay for the guy who wins the game when the star is slumping.
Their 2026 payroll is projected at $322.4 million. Add a projected $163.7 million luxury tax bill and they're spending close to $500 million all in this season, more than any team in baseball. Last year, they spent a record $515 million and won a second straight World Series.
The Atlanta Braves aren't exactly cheap with a payroll is $252.1 million, among the highest in the game. Atlanta, however, lost four starters in spring training and they’ve been trying to patch the holes ever since. The Braves opened their wild-card clincher and Game 2 of this series with Ray Kerr, a 32-year-old left-hander with barely 70 career innings coming into October. Rowdy Tellez, Tuesday's pinch-hitter, signed on the last day of spring training and spent most of the season in Triple-A.
That $70 million gap in salary alone, before the Dodgers' tax bill, shows up in the details that a team needs in October.
Tuesday night Max Muncy, Edman and 21-year-old Josue De Paula all started on the bench. Roberts called that "ultimate flexibility." For plenty of teams, it would be a lineup.
The Braves lost four starters in spring training. They opened their wild-card clincher and Game 2 of this series with Ray Kerr, a 32-year-old left-hander with barely 70 career innings coming into October. Rowdy Tellez, Tuesday's pinch-hitter, signed on the last day of spring training and spent most of the season in Triple-A.
And Wednesday, Roberts plans to move Ohtani back toward the top of the lineup against Tyler Mahle. Last October, he hit eight postseason homers. The Dodgers are now 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position.
Dave Roberts doesn’t have to worry about the drought.
“It’s good to know that we can still win games without him doing a whole bunch,” Roberts said.
For the Dodgers, that’s the peace of mind that $322.4 million buys them.
A trio of Mets rookies was honored on Tuesday night after being named to MLB Pipeline's 2026 All-Rookie Teams.
Right fielder Carson Benge took home First-Team honors while center fielder A.J. Ewing and starting pitcher Nolan McLean were picked for Second-Team after all three had great rookie seasons in New York.
Benge, who had a slash line of .282/.346/.430 (.776 OPS) with a 20/20 season to go along with 22 doubles, finished with a 4.3 WAR in 156 games -- the third-highest among rookie position players.
The 23-year-old is also one of the top contenders for the National League Rookie of the Year award with two of his competitors, Cincinnati Reds designated hitter Sal Stewart and St. Louis Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt, also making First-Team.
After getting promoted to the big leagues in May, Ewing hit the ground running and made an immediate impact with the Mets. He struggled in the middle of the season, but the 21-year-old ended the season on a high note and led the club with 25 steals, a new franchise record for a rookie.
Ewing's biggest contributions of the season possibly came in the outfield, where he manned center field masterfully while occasionally getting reps at the corners as well. He finished with a 3.1 WAR in 120 games.
McLean rounds out the group after a sensational first full campaign in the big leagues. The right-hander burst onto the scene in 2025 when he made eight starts down the stretch of the season during a pennant race and went 5-1 with a 2.06 ERA.
Despite New York struggling as much as it did this season, McLean was one of the most consistent players on the team. He made all 31 of his starts and had a 3.16 ERA across a career-high 179.2 innings while striking out 194 batters. He's joined by Milwaukee Brewers starter Logan Henderson on the Second-Team.
Dave Dombrowski, Phillies president of baseball operations, spoke with Cora about becoming their manager in 2027, but Cora informed Dombrowski he’s taking the season off, according to a high-ranking Phillies executive with direct knowledge of their talks told USA TODAY Sports.
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the Phillies still have not decided who will manage their team.
Cora, who won a World Series with the Red Sox with Dombrowski in 2018, was offered the Phillies’ job in April before firing Rob Thomson, and he declined it, saying he wanted to spend the rest of the summer with his family.
Now, after being pursued again, he declined, with Cora still owed about $7.25 million from the Red Sox in 2027 as the third and final year of his three-year, $21.75 million contract.
Cora did not immediately respond to a text message from USA TODAY Sports.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 06: Ronald Acuña Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves looks on during the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers in game three of the National League Division Series at Truist Park on October 06, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Welp, that wasn’t ideal!
The home field advantage that the Atlanta Braves snatched away from the Los Angeles Dodgers has slipped right out of Atlanta’s fingers thanks to a brilliant Yoshinobu Yamamoto and more power hitting from the Dodgers. They still haven’t scored with anything but homers and unfortunately Chris Sale was the latest victim of LA’s obsession with the long ball.
“They did a nice job of really grinding the at-bats and passing the baton,” conceded manager Walt Weiss when he was asked about the Dodgers’ approach against Sale in the postgame press conference. “[Sale] had to work hard. He had to work hard to get the outs that he got. He looked like Chris Sale to me [but] they did a nice job.”
Weiss also stated that he felt like Sale’s stuff was still good but the command may not have been there in his eyes. Either way, there’s no way around it: The Dodgers were better on this particular night and they did a solid job of bouncing back from Sale’s dominant outing when this team came to visit back in August.
With that being said, I’d imagine that the thing that’s on every Braves fan’s mind right now is that this lineup has got to start hitting consistently — and soon. While Yoshinobu Yamamoto and the rest of LA’s pitching staff is as imposing as it gets and it’s a much easier said-than-done task on Atlanta’s hands, it’s still the Postseason and the Braves are here for a reason — they’ve got to find a way to make something happen against this pitching staff.
That goes doubly for the stars like Drake Baldwin, Matt Olson and Ronald Acuña Jr., who have stayed largely dormant during this series so far. It was another quiet night for Acuña in particular, who has been picking up hits and getting on base but not at the rate or level that you’d expect out of a superstar-caliber player. Acuña had another chance to make something happen in a big moment in Game 3 when the fifth inning rolled around and he had a chance with two men in scoring position and two outs.
It could’ve been a special moment had Acuña come through and either tied the game with a knock or even electrified the stadium with a dinger. Instead, Acuña grounded out again and the moment went by the wayside. That ended up being Atlanta’s best chance of the night and the face of the franchise came up short again.
While it’s not just Acuña who has been underwhelming at the plate so far during this Postseason, it’s on him as the star of this ballclub to step up in the situations where the stars need to shine. While Acuña might have been dealing with a sore knee, it’s not an excuse — Weiss stated in the pregame that he hasn’t seen Acuña suffer any ill effects from the lower leg contusion that he sustained in the final week of the regular season and also Acuña’s knee was still in good enough position for him to play tonight.
If he’s not pressing at the plate (which Weiss insisted both during the pregame press conference and the postgame presser as well) then something’s got to change. If I knew what needed to change, I’d be getting paid a lot of money working in baseball instead of writing about it so it’s on Acuña and the coaching staff to figure it out. With their backs in the wall, the Braves are going to need everybody to contribute and hopefully the face of the franchise can finally lift his game for the Postseason before it’s too late.
It’ll also be on Tyler Mahle to make something happen on the mound for the Braves in Game 4. In the pregame presser before Game 3, Mahle at least expressed confidence that he’ll be up for the challenge for his start with Atlanta’s backs facing the wall. “…All you can do out there is make pitches. I’m not trying to trick them. [The Dodgers] know. They’ve seen me,” said Mahle when he was asked about approaching the Dodgers lineup in Game 4. “I’m sure they’re going to watch film, whatever. So it’s making pitches at the right times and that’s all you can hope to do.”
With that being said, the Dodgers also appear to be ready for the challenge of getting it right against Mahle with a trip to the NLCS in sight. Freddie Freeman spoke with the media following Game 3 and he talked about how the Dodgers plan to deal with Mahle on Wednesday evening. “If you’re chasing splitters down below, you’re going to be in trouble,” explained Freeman when he was asked about dealing with Mahle. “Just like we did with Sale, you gotta get him in the zone, get him off the bottom and hopefully he makes mistakes and you’re on time for them.”
“I wish baseball was so much more of ‘This is what we’re gonna do’ but sometimes we strip it down and it’s not that complicated. If we can just get him up off the bottom of the zone, hopefully we can have some great success tomorrow. We’ve gotta treat every game like an elimination game.”
All the way back in April, Mahle threw seven shutout innings against the Dodgers as a member of the Giants. A repeat performance will be sorely needed for the Braves and a star-making performance from any of the stars in this lineup would also be greatly appreciated as well.
The moment is there for Atlanta, they’ve just got to rise up to it and make something happen. We’ll see how it goes as the Braves play with the season on the line on Wednesday night in Cobb County.
ATLANTA — Yoshinobu Yamamoto struck out 10 in seven innings, Kiké Hernández hit a two-run homer and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 3-1 on Tuesday night to take a 2-1 lead in their NL Division Series.
Yamamoto dominated the much-anticipated matchup with Atlanta ace Chris Sale, who allowed three runs and seven hits in five innings. Yamamoto, the MVP of the 2025 World Series, permitted only four hits with one walk while improving to 8-1 in his postseason career.
The Dodgers can win the best-of-five series and take another step in their attempt to become the first National League team to win three consecutive World Series titles by beating the Braves again Wednesday night in Game 4.
The Braves hoped giving Sale extra rest would be a winning formula in the pivotal third game. Instead, after stranding six runners in the first three innings, he gave up the two-run homer to Hernández and a solo shot to Freddie Freeman in the fourth.
Ozzie Albies opened the Atlanta ninth with a double off the right-center wall against Edwin Díaz and moved to third on Micheal Harris II’s groundout. Díaz stranded the runner when Mauricio Dubón fouled out to right field and Mike Yastrzemski grounded out to shortstop Mookie Betts.
Dubón made a leaping catch over the left-field wall to rob Freeman of a home run in the third. Freeman wouldn’t be denied an inning later. Hernández’s homer to left drove in Andy Pages, who singled. One out later, Freeman pulled his 18th career postseason homer to right field for a 3-0 lead.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts moved designated hitter Shohei Ohtani down to No. 5 in the lineup because Ohtani was 3 for 15 in his career against Sale. Ohtani went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts against Sale when the Dodgers lost 1-0 on Aug. 26 in Atlanta.
Roberts correctly predicted Ohtani would have opportunities with runners on base hitting lower in the order.
With runners on first and second in the first, Sale struck out Ohtani to end the inning. With two runners on base in the third, Ohtani reached on catcher’s interference by Drake Baldwin to load the bases before Miguel Rojas ended the inning with a flyball to right field. Ohtani walked to lead off the eighth against Brent Suter, Atlanta’s fourth pitcher.
Baldwin’s bases-loaded grounder to first base drove in Dubón, who singled, in the fifth for Atlanta’s only run off Yamamoto.
Rojas left during an at-bat in the eighth. The second baseman appeared to injure his back on a swing and was replaced by Tommy Edman. The Dodgers announced the injury as lower back pain.
Tanner Scott added two strikeouts in a scoreless eighth for Los Angeles.
Up next
Braves right-hander Tyler Mahle is expected to face Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow in Game 4 on Wednesday night. Mahle said Tuesday an abdominal pull is now a “non-issue.” He felt the pull before allowing one run in seven innings of a 4-3 loss to Philadelphia in 10 innings during the NL Wild Card Series last week.
The Dodgers' Freddie Freeman follows through on a solo home run off a pitch from Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale. (Mike Stewart / Associated Press)
The Dodgers went into Game 3 of the National League Division Series knowing they couldn’t be so reliant on the home run, especially with Braves ace Chris Sale on the mound. And yet, in a 3-1 win, it was the home run ball, paired with a masterful performance on the mound from right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto, that secured the victory.
The Dodgers pulled ahead to a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series. All 10 of their runs in the NLDS have come via homer.
The Dodgers tried to score in other ways, putting on six baserunners in the first three innings of the game. But it didn’t work.
They failed to take advantage of some luck and poor defense from the Braves in the first inning, as Mookie Betts beat out a soft groundball up the first base line and Teoscar Hernández reached on a fielding error by Braves shortstop Ha-Seong Kim.
The lineup shuffling manager Dave Roberts did against Sale had superstar Shohei Ohtani, batting fifth, walking up to the plate with two outs and runners on first and second. His over-anxious approach at the plate so far this postseason followed him into the at-bat. And he struck out whiffing on a slider in the opposite batter’s box.
The next inning, Kyle Tucker hit a two-out single into left, baited Sale into picking over to first base twice, and then stole second. But he was stranded there, as Kiké Hernández went down swinging. All six of the Dodgers’ outs in the first two innings came via the strikeout.
In the third, the Dodgers loaded the bases. Betts started the effort with a single through the left side of the infield. And it looked for a moment as if Freddie Freeman had capitalized on the opportunity with a runner in scoring position.
He stayed back on a fastball and crushed it to deep left field, on a trajectory to just clear the short fence. But Braves left fielder Mauricio Dubón made a leaping catch, holding into the ball as he slammed into the wall.
Undeterred, the Dodgers kept putting runners on base. With two outs, Will Smith stayed through a slider to single. Ohtani clipped Braves catcher Drake Baldwin’s mitt and was awarded first base for catcher’s interference. Then Miguel Rojas, who’d exit the game in the eighth inning mid-at-bat with what the Dodgers called low back pain, hit a line drive that found leather to end the inning.
So, back to the long ball.
Perennial postseason hero Kiké Hernández delivered the first blow. With Andy Pages on first, after his first hit of the series, Hernández launched a changeup into the left-field stands. Then, two batters later, Freeman turned on an inside sinker and sent it over the right-field fence — where Dubón had no chance to track it down.
Game 3 was billed as a matchup between aces: Sale, whom the Braves tabbed for Tuesday because of his workload in their wild-card series, and Yamamoto, whom the Dodgers partially held back for the first two games with the NLCS in mind.
Yamamoto held up his end of the bargain, limiting the Braves to four hits and one run in seven innings.
He retired 10 of the first 11 batters he faced. The only baserunner in that time, Michael Harris II, bunted for a single. Yamamoto crashed hard, slipping on the slick grass as he tried to pivot but still managing to make a throw to first from the ground.
He only wavered in the fifth, loading the bases with a pair of singles and a four-pitch walk. The Braves’ batting order turned over, and Yamamoto got Baldwin to ground out to first, but that scored a run. Then he induced Ronald Acuña Jr. to ground out to second to escape the jam. Rojas ranged to his left to field the ball and made an on-target throw even as he slipped on the grass in shallow right field.
Yamamoto didn’t allow another baserunner.
Left-handed reliever Tanner Scott served as the Dodgers’ setup man, throwing a hitless eighth. And right-hander Edwin Díaz came in for his first save opportunity since Aug. 14 against the Brewers.
He gave up a double off the wall to Ozzie Albies to open the inning but retired the next three batters.
SAN DIEGO — Padres closer Mason Miller went on the postseason paternity list Tuesday night with San Diego facing elimination in the NL Division Series.
The intimidating All-Star reliever will miss at least one game, the Padres announced about 45 minutes before the first pitch. Wandy Peralta replaced Miller on the 26-man playoff roster.
Miller was one of the best closers in the majors this season for the Padres. With a fastball that regularly touches 104 mph, Miller converted 38 of his 41 save opportunities and went 5-2 with a 0.90 WHIP and 129 strikeouts over just 70 innings.
But Miller also blew the save in the ninth inning of the Padres’ 4-3 loss to the Brewers in Milwaukee last Sunday, putting San Diego in an 0-2 hole in the best-of-five series.
While attempting to finish a two-inning save, Miller issued three walks before Jackson Chourio delivered a two-out, two-strike, two-RBI single to win it on Miller’s 40th pitch.
Peralta was left off the Padres’ initial NLDS roster despite posting a 3.61 ERA during the regular season as a solid middle reliever.
Miller is the second Padres pitcher to go on the paternity list in this playoff series.
Walker Buehler missed the first two games in Milwaukee while on the list, but replacement Randy Vasquez also didn’t pitch while San Diego lost two straight in Milwaukee. Buehler, who returned to the Padres on Monday, recorded the final outs of the 2024 World Series while earning his first major league save for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - OCTOBER 04: Jackson Chourio #11 of the Milwaukee Brewers is congratulated by his teammates after hitting the game-winning two-run single against the San Diego Padres during the ninth inning in game two of the National League Division Series at American Family Field on October 04, 2026 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) | Getty Images
After a heartbreaking game 2 defeat, the San Diego Padres return home to Petco Park to host the Milwaukee Brewers in game 3 of the NLDS. Dustin May will try to nail down the series for the Brewers while the Padres will rely on RHP Nick Pivetta. First pitch is scheduled for 8:30pm central time and the game broadcast is available via Fox/FS1.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 01: Chris Sale #51 of the Atlanta Braves prepares to throw a pitch during the ninth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies in game three of the National League Wild Card Series at Truist Park on October 01, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Atlanta Braves took on the Dodgers tonight in a pivotal game that would give them the 2-1 lead in the NLDS. Chris Sale took on Yoshinobu Yamamoto. The last time these two faced of Sale pitched a complete game shutout and the Braves won 1-0.
The first inning looked great for Sale. He gave up a leadoff single to Betts and Ha-Seong Kim committed an error, but Sale struck out Freeman, Smith and Ohtani. Yamamoto answered with a great inning of his own, striking out the first two hitters and getting Olson to groundout.
In the second, Tucker singled and stole second, but Sale struck out every other hitter he faced. Harris singled in the second for the first base runner for the Braves, but it was the only offense. The third inning got dramatic. Betts singled, but then Dubón robbed Freddie Freeman of a HR.
After a Teoscar Hernández fly out, Smith singled and then Ohtani reached on catcher’s interference to load the bases. Sale was able to get Rojas to line out to end the top of the inning with no damage done. The Braves had zero offense in the third.
The fourth is where it started to fall apart for Sale. Pages singled. Tucker lined out, but then postseason legend Enrique Hernández hit a two-run shot to give the Dodgers a lead. Betts grounded out, but then Freeman added a HR of his own to make the score 3-0. Fortunately, Teoscar Hernández had a 108.4 MPH fly out to end the top of the fourth. Matt Olson singled, but it was the only offense in the fourth for the Braves.
Sale stayed in to pitch the fifth and retired the side to include a strikeout of Will Smith. It looked like the Braves might get some momentum in the fifth with a Dubón single followed by a Thomas single. Riley struck out, but then Tellez pinch hit for Kim and walked to load the bases. Baldwin grounded out to score a run, but then Acuña grounded out himself to end the inning.
Dylan Dodd came in to pitch the sixth. Sale ended his start with 5.0 innings with three earned runs, seven hits, zero walks, and seven strikeouts. Pages had a single, but then Dodd sat down the rest to include two strikeouts. Unfortunately, the Braves did not do any better as they were retired in order.
Dylan Lee came in to pitch the seventh. He has been struggling lately, but it did make sense to bring him in here. He was able to retire the side to keep the game close. The bottom of the lineup looked like the bottom of the lineup for the Braves as they were sat down in order again in the seventh.
Brent Suter came in to pitch the eighth. An interesting choice. He walked Ohtani on seven pitches. Rojas then tweaked something and was replaced by Edman who popped up. Suter then prevented anymore offense. Tanner Scott then came in to replace Yamamoto. Hicklen struck out and Baldwin grounded out. Ronald Acuña then walked on five pitches. Olson was able to get Scott to pitch six pitches, but struck out. This left the Braves three outs to tie it up.
Raisel Iglesias came in to pitch the ninth. He was able to induce a pop up from Hernández after falling to a 3-0 count. He then struck out Mookie Betts on eight pitches. This brought up Freddie Freeman who walked on sox pitches. Max Muncy pinch hit for Teoscar Hernández. Muncy struck out on three pitches.
Edwin Díaz came in to pitch the ninth. Ozzie Albies has been one of the best hitters on the team this postseason and continued with a double to lead off the ninth. Harris made Díaz work, but ultimately grounded out on eight pitches and moved Albies to third. Mauricio Dubón flies out to right and it was not far enough to score the run. Mike Yastrzemski replaced Lane Thomas as the last chance. He then grounded out to end the game, putting the Braves at a big disadvantage moving forward.
Next game is at home with Tyler Mahle on the mound with a win or go home game. The bats were cold as ever, and will need to wake up against Glasnow to stay alive.
The game was tight, knotted at 0-0 through the third inning. Freddie Freeman thought he had a home run but Atlanta Braves outfielder Mauricio Dubón had other ideas in mind, robbing Freeman of the shot.
Hernández hit a two-run homer for his 17th career home run in the postseason. Freeman followed with a solo shot just a few batters later.
The Braves got a run in the bottom of the fifth inning when Drake Baldwin grounded out to first, giving Dubón time to make it home safe. That was the end of the scoring, though. The Dodgers hung on to preserve the win and go ahead in the series.
Physically, LA didn't make it out of the game without a scratch. Second baseman Miguel Rojas left the game in the eighth inning after sustaining an injury seemingly during a swing.
The NLDS continues Wednesday, Oct. 7. Here's the remaining schedule for the NLDS between the Dodgers and Braves:
NLDS Game 4: Los Angeles Dodgers at Atlanta Braves
Date: Oct. 7
Game Site: Truist Park in Atlanta
Start time: 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT
TV/Stream: FS1; FOX Deportes; FOX One
*NLDS Game 5: Atlanta Braves at Los Angeles Dodgers
*= if necessary
Date: Oct. 9
Game Site: Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles
Start time: 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. ET (subject to change)
Oct 6, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto (18) walks off the diamond after pitching against the Atlanta Braves during the seventh inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Yoshinobu Yamamoto continued his postseason dominance with seven strong innings and the Dodgers homered twice in their best showing against Chris Sale this season, beating the Atlanta Braves 3-1 on Tuesday night in Game 3 of the National League Division Series at Truist Park.
Los Angeles leads the best-of-5 series, two games to one.
Yamamoto only allowed two singles in the first four innings, one of which was a bunt that he was quick to field, but lost his footing when trying to throw to first base, one of three plays in Game 3 in which a Dodgers fielder slipped on the Truist Field turf.
Trouble came for Yamamoto in the fifth inning, with two single to open the frame followed by a one-out, four-pitch walk to pinch-hitter Rowdy Tellez, in just his 14th major league plate appearance on the season. One ground out to first base brought in a run but another grounder ended the inning with only one run in, and the Dodgers still leading.
He needed only 98 pitches to finish off seven innings, with just that one run across, and tied a season high with 10 strikeouts, done three timesduring theregular season.
Yamamoto’s last five postseason appearances have been on the road, and he’s won all five of them. In the four starts, Yamamoto lasted at least six innings and allowed exactly one run in all four games. There was a rather famous eight-out, championship-clinching scoreless relief appearance on zero days rest last November as well. In those five games Yamamoto has allowed four total runs in 33 2/3 innings, with 32 strikeouts against only four walks.
He’s made himself at home on the road.
Breakthrough
Sale, even at age 37, is a tough customer to face, and his first six outs were all strikeouts, looking very much like the ace that allowed three runs in 16 innings in two regular season starts against the Dodgers this year. But in between those six strikeouts the Dodgers had two hits, plus another reached on an error.
Two more hits came in the third inning, plus a catcher’s interference, but the Dodgers stranded the bases loaded. That meant six left on base in what was still a scoreless game to that point, but there were encouraging signs, including Sale needing 62 pitches to get through the first three frames. Freddie Freeman, who homered in Game 2, hit a ball the other way with enough distance to get over the left field wall, but Mauricio Dubón robbed him of a two-run home run with a fantastic catch.
The Dodgers started to get the fruits of their labor in the fourth inning, which began with Andy Pages singling for his first hit of the postseason. Kiké Hernández, making his first start of the playoffs, deposited a changeup into the left field seats for the first two runs on the game.
Two batters after Hernández’s 12th postseason home run for the Dodgers — and his 17th career postseason shot — Freeman left no doubt this time around, taking Sale out, well over the wall in right field for a three-run inning.
Finally getting runs across underscored the work already put in by the Dodgers in making Sale work, and that paid off further when his night was done after five innings and 93 pitches.
Chance are
Ohtani batted fifth in Game 3, the first time in his three years with the Dodgers he’s batted anywhere but first or second. Manager Dave Roberts said Ohtani hitting that low — which spaced out lefties Freeman, Ohtani, and Kyle Tucker with two batters in between them — was more of a one-time deployment because he was facing left-hander Chris Sale.
“I don’t think it’s a pressure thing. I do think it’s something where he wants to do more,” Roberts said earlier Tuesday. “But in that same breath, I do think that there’s going to be a couple big spots today where he’s going to be at-bat.”
Sure enough, Ohtani’s first two trips to the plate came with two runners on base. He chased badly on a strikeout in the first inning, but reached on catcher’s inference in the third. Ohtani didn’t bat again with any one on base, but those four total runners on with him at the plate were his most in a game since August 28. Ohtani did walk in the eighth inning, but was stranded.
On the mend
Miguel Rojas started for a second straight game against a left-handed starter, and was hitless in three at-bats. While batting in the eighth inning, Rojas felt something on a swing and left the game in the middle of the plate appearance with lower back pain, the Dodgers announced during the game. Rojas also had one of the aforementioned slips on the west Truist Park turf, loosing his footing in making the final out of the fifth inning on a ground out.
Tommy Edman completed the at-bat and popped out, then remained in the game at second base.
NLDS Game 3 particulars
Home runs: Kiké Hernández (1), Freddie Freeman (2)
LP — Chris Sale (0-1): 5 IP, 7 hits, 3 runs, 7 strikeouts
Sv — Edwin Díaz (1): 1 IP, 1 hit
Up next
The Dodgers try to close out the series with Tyler Glasnow on the mound on Wednesday night in Game 4 (3:08 p.m. PT, FS1), while right-hander Tyler Mahle goes for the Braves.
SAN DIEGO — If the San Diego Padres didn’t have enough obstacles to overcome the Milwaukee Brewers, they will now be without All-Star closer Mason Miller for at least Game 3 Tuesday night when he was placed on paternity leave.
Miller’s wife, Jordan, went into labor Tuesday afternoon to deliver their first child.
The Padres, who were down 2-0 in the National League Division Series, replaced him on the roster with Wandy Peralta. It’s the second time this series that the Padres will be without a key pitcher with starter Walker Buehler also going on the paternity list before returning Monday.
Miller, the game’s top closer, will likely be replaced in the back end of the game with Adrian Morejon, who has been their setup man. The Padres were also without DH Gavin Sheets, who was scratched with a stiff neck, and replaced him with Samad Taylor.
If San Diego wins Tuesday to extend the series, Game 4 will be played on Wednesday, Oct. 7 in San Diego.
