Category: MLB

ATLANTA — Build him a statue.

Retire his number.

Let him press his golden right hand into wet cement on Hollywood Boulevard.

What’s the wait?

Yoshinobu Yamamoto is only in his third season with the Dodgers, and the 28-year-old Japanese right-hander is already one of the greatest postseason pitchers in franchise history.

He produced his latest October masterpiece on Tuesday night in a 3-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park that shifted the balance of their National League Division Series back in the Dodgers’ favor.

Didn’t matter that former Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale was pitching opposite him.

Didn’t matter that Shohei Ohtani was a non-factor again.

Yamamoto was dealing, and the Dodgers now have a chance to close out the series on Wednesday after taking a two-games-to-one lead in the best-of-five series.

“Wow,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

How else could he describe the seven innings over which Yamamoto limited the Braves to one run and four hits?

The 10-strikeout performance further solidified the Dodgers’ belief in Yamamoto, who was the World Series MVP last year.

“He’s becoming one of the best pitchers on this stage,” infielder Miguel Rojas said. “Obviously, he hasn’t won a Cy Young here or been the best pitcher in the league, but we feel like very time he takes the mound, he’s the best pitcher for us.”

Yamamoto was pushed by the memory of the last time he pitched in this stadium against Sale. In that late August start, Yamamoto limited the Braves to a run in 6 ⅓ innings. Sale pitched a complete-game shutout, and the Braves won, 1-0.

“The last time I was here, I gave up the go-ahead run and we lost because he was able to hold us,” Yamamoto said in Japanese. “I was extremely mindful about the first run.”

While the Dodgers’ lineup made Sale work by extending at-bats, Yamamoto cruised through the first three innings. The only hit Yamamoto gave up over that span was a bunt single by Michael Harris II in the second inning.

Maurico Dubón stole a home run from Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman by reaching over the left-field fence in the top of the third inning, but the Braves couldn’t turn that moment of jubilation into sustained momentum. Yamamoto wouldn’t allow it, retiring the Braves in order in the bottom half of the inning.

Finally, in the fourth inning, Sale broke. He gave up a two-run home run to Kiké Hernández, then a solo shot to Freeman. The Dodgers were up, 3-0.

Yamamoto’s first and only encounter with trouble came in the fifth inning. Yamamoto started the inning by giving up back-to-back singles to Dubón and Lane Thomas. With one out, he walked pinch hitter Rowdy Tellez to load the bases. A groundout by Drake Baldwn pushed in a run.

Up next was Ronald Acuña, the former NL MVP.

The showdown was representative of Yamamoto’s mindset. Yamamoto was determined to take on Acuña, or anyone else for that matter, on his terms. Even after falling behind in the count, 3-1, Yamamoto refused to throw a strike for the sake of throwing a strike. He still had a two-run lead. If he walked Acuña and forced in a run, he could preserve his team’s advantage by retiring the next batter.

Yamamoto threw a splitter that just nicked the bottom of the strike zone, Acuña grounded out to second base, and the Dodgers maintained their 3-1 lead.

Limiting damage, Yamamoto said, was prioritized over efficiency.

“As long as I didn’t give up runs, I didn’t mind if I ran up my pitch count,” Yamamoto said. “I was going to throw the ball in places in which it would be difficult to hit.”

Turned out he didn’t have to make that sacrifice.

Yamamoto completed seven innings in 98 pitches, which spared Roberts the torture of using any relievers other than Tanner Scott and Edwin Diaz.

Tarik Skubal, who pitched six shutout innings in a Game 1 victory, was already an admirer of Yamamoto before the Dodgers acquired him from the Detroit Tigers at the trade deadline. Sharing a locker room with Yamamoto over the last couple of months further intensified his respect for him.

“Nobody’s more deserving to go out there and perform and have success,” Skubal said. “He does everything the right way. He works his [butt] off. He’s relentless.”

Skubal marveled at Yamamoto’s distinctive training regimen.

“I’m never going to be doing what he’s doing,” Skubal said. “I’m not throwing javelins. The way he prepares is insane. He’s doing headstands. I’m not doing that. I weigh a little bit more than he does.”

Skubal chuckled.

Skubal is listed at 6-foot-3, 240 pounds, and Yamamoto 5-foot-10, 176 pounds.

But the more Skubal spoke about Yamamoto, the more it became clear he viewed Yamamoto as a figurative giant.

“You want a guy on the mound in any situation,” Skubal said, “it’s probably him.”

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.

Read more:Plaschke: Rejuvenated Dodgers beat Braves, ignore awful tomahawk chop in series that feels over

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.

Read more:Shohei Ohtani dropped in the batting order for NLDS Game 3 vs. Chris Sale, Braves

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

ATLANTA –– During the eighth inning of Game 3 of the NLDS on Tuesday, Dodgers middle infielder Miguel Rojas exited the game with what the team said was low back apin.

Rojas was seen in visible discomfort after fouling off a fastball from Braves reliever Brent Suter.

Rojas started limping back toward the batter’s box and was immediately evaluated by a member of the Dodgers’ training staff and manager Dave Roberts.

Tommy Edman replaced Rojas at second base.

The good news: Rojas said he was “hopeful that everything will be fine,” and manager Dave Roberts didn’t seem overly concerned either.

“[We’ll see] how he comes in tomorrow,” Roberts saod. “Hopefully he feels better tomorrow.”

Rojas went 0-for-3 before departing Tuesday. He has one hit in the series — a double in Saturday’s 5-3 victory.

Rojas is expected to retire after the season is over.

Rojas was a World Series hero last year after hitting a game-tying home run in Game 7 against the Blue Jays, sending the game to extra innings.

The Dodgers went on to win the game in the 11th when Will Smith hit a go-ahead home run.

In Tuesday’s game, the Dodgers’ offense popped off in the fourth inning, when Kiké Hernández and Freddie Freeman homered to give LA a 3-0 lead.

The Braves scored in the fifth when Drake Baldwin grounded out to first after Dodgers starting pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto loaded the bases.

It was later in that inning when Rojas said he first felt back discomfort, after making a tougher-than-it-looked play on a ground ball from Ronald Acuña Jr. deep in the hole at second base.

 “I kind of slid right there with the grass,” Rojas said. “My hip and my lower back tightened up.”

Despite that, Rojas tried to take his next at-bat a few innings later, but finally called for a trainer after feeling continued pain on his swing.

“I’m looking forward to being ready to go tomorrow if they need me,” he insisted. “I’m just going to do a couple rounds of treatment today and then see how [I feel when I] wake up tomorrow.”

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.

What is the point of having a six-man bench full of right-handed hitters if you are only going to use one across three innings against a lefty reliever with your season fading away?

That was the scenario the Yankees faced Monday night in Game 2 of the ALDS against the Rays, trailing 5-1 in the sixth inning when Ian Seymour entered the game.

Aaron Boone had left-handed hitters Luis García Jr. and Spencer Jones hit for themselves in the sixth inning, then stuck with three more lefties in the seventh (Jazz Chisholm Jr., Trent Grisham and Austin Wells), with Seymour retiring all of them.

Finally in the eighth, Boone pinch hit Paul Goldschmidt for Ryan McMahon, though the veteran righty bat hit a harmless pop-up on the way to another meager offensive performance outside of Ben Rice’s two solo homers.

“Seymour I view as very neutral,” Boone said Tuesday. “So there would’ve been a right-hander I would have used at some point had we gotten runners on base, but by the time he was in the game it was 5-1. So I was playing more of a get on base, see if we could create traffic and then possibly shoot [Giancarlo Stanton] or Goldie or [Heliot] Ramos in a spot there.”

This year, lefties hit .244 with a .789 OPS against Seymour while righties hit .217 with a .683 OPS.

During a regular season in which the Yankees leaned on him heavily, using him in 81 of their 161 games, Brent Headrick mostly delivered, including allowing only 14.8 percent of inherited runners to score — which ranked sixth among qualified relievers.

But after he looked to be running out of gas down the stretch, the left-hander’s dip in velocity has carried over into the playoffs.

His fastball averaged 93.2 mph (down from his season average of 94.1) in Monday’s Game 2, which included giving up a two-run single to Richie Palacios in the fifth inning after a George Lombard Jr. error extended the inning.

“I think we’ve seen velocity from anywhere from 91 to 94 in the last couple outings, so if we can keep him in the 94 range, there’s definitely plenty of effectiveness there,” pitching coach Matt Blake said Tuesday.

“Striking the slider has — obviously — has become a priority, using the offspeed effectively, which he’s done in the second half of the year. Using the splitter a little bit more to the righties, leaning into the slider to both lefties and righties and then he’s got to be effective with his command of the fastball, and ultimately that’s where we’re at this time of year. He’s been used a lot and he’s doing his best to stay fresh down the stretch, but ultimately we got to keep making pitches when it’s important at this time of year.”

After arriving back in New York early Tuesday morning, the Yankees had an optional workout at Yankee Stadium, though Boone had said Monday he hoped most of his players would “stay away” to get some rest.

“Whatever guys feel like they need to do today … hopefully guys were able to sleep at least a little bit and kind of recover today,” Boone said. “And I’m sure there will be some guys in, at least moving around and doing some things behind the scenes to be ready to go [Wednesday].”

SAN DIEGO — The Padres will face elimination Tuesday night without the most terrifying arm in their bullpen.

Major League Baseball approved San Diego closer Mason Miller’s placement on the Postseason Paternity List ahead of Game 3 of the NLDS against the Milwaukee Brewers at Petco Park, meaning Miller will be unavailable as the Padres try to keep their season alive.

Left-hander Wandy Peralta will replace Miller on San Diego’s NLDS roster. Miller must remain away from the club for at least one day and no more than three, and will replace Peralta upon his return.

Miller’s absence leaves an enormous hole for a Padres team already staring over the edge after dropping the first two games in Milwaukee.

Miller was one strike away from completing a six-out save Sunday when everything unraveled. He walked three batters in the ninth before Jackson Chourio ripped a 101-mph fastball into center field for a two-run, walk-off single and a 4-3 Brewers victory.

It was a stunning stumble from one of baseball’s most overpowering relievers.

Miller went 5-2 with a 1.67 ERA, 38 saves and 129 strikeouts in 70 innings during the regular season. Last October, he announced himself to the postseason by striking out the first eight batters he faced — the longest such streak to begin a playoff career — while unleashing a 104.5-mph fastball, the fastest tracked pitch in postseason history.

Now the Padres must survive without their human flamethrower.

Nick Pivetta gets the ball in Game 3, but if San Diego carries a late lead Tuesday, somebody else will have to protect it.

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 Los Angeles Dodgers took a 2-1 series lead with their 3-1, Game 3 win Tuesday night against the Atlanta Braves in the National League Division Series at Truist Park in Atlanta.

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.

It wasn't until the following inning when the Dodgers took the lid off and connected for a couple of home runs from Kiké Hernández and Freeman in the top of the fourth inning.

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.

ATLANTA –– Two superstar pitchers were on the mound.

Two teams’ seasons were essentially hanging in the balance.

And in Game 3 of the National League Division Series, an all-time, old-fashioned, heavyweight October pitchers’ duel came down to two no-doubt, home run swings.

With a 3-1 win on Tuesday night that represented a monumental step forward in their pursuit of a third-straight World Series, the Dodgers and Yoshinobu Yamamoto got the best of Chris Sale and the Atlanta Braves.

“I don’t feel I outpitched Chris Sale tonight,” Yamamoto, ever-modest, said through his interpreter after.

The box score (and the final score), however, told a different story.

Sale gave up a pair of home runs in the top of the fourth inning, with Kiké Hernández launching a two-run blast to left and Freddie Freeman belting a solo shot to right-center. 

Yamamoto made the lead stand up, spinning seven spectacular innings of one-run ball in his latest playoff gem.

Now, the Dodgers hold a 2-1 lead in this best-of-five series, needing just one more victory to advance with Tyler Glasnow lined up for Game 4 and Tarik Skubal on deck for a Game 5, if it gets there.

They stared down a daunting task against Sale, arguably the best pitcher they’ve faced at any point in the last three postseasons, and rose to the challenge the way they so often have while cementing their dynasty.

“We played tonight like an elimination game,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I think collectively it was probably one of our better performances, certainly [against] the starter, as far as 1 through 9 [in the lineup].”

On the eve of Game 3’s titanic pitching clash, Dodgers hitting coach Aaron Bates laid out the situation succinctly.

To go deep in the playoffs, he said, “you’re gonna have to beat some really good pitchers … You’re gonna have to face an ace.”

That, of course, applied to both teams Tuesday, with Yamamoto making his 2026 postseason debut coming off a 14-9, 2.53 ERA regular season –– and his World Series MVP heroics during last year’s title run.

Still, the left-handed Sale offered up a unique challenge, entering Tuesday in the wake of a career-best 2.16 ERA this year (even better than his 2024 Cy Young campaign), two clutch performances in last week’s wild-card round, and a five-hit shutout of the Dodgers the last time he faced them in August.

“We know we’re in for a battle,” veteran Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas said pregame.

Thus, the Dodgers made adjustments.

Hernández and Rojas were drawn into the starting lineup, replacing Max Muncy and Tommy Edman to give the club two extra right-handed bats. Banged-up slugger Shohei Ohtani was also dropped to the No. 5 spot in the batting order, the lowest he had hit since the 2020 season with the Angels.

“I just feel this gives us the best chance to beat the Braves today, and combat Sale,” Roberts explained pregame. “I feel good about it.”

Indeed, the Dodgers had Sale under pressure early and often, putting runners in scoring position in each of their first three trips to the plate (including a bases-loaded opportunity in the third) while driving up his pitch count with stressful, laborious innings.

Still, those were nothing but moral victories initially, with Sale wiggling out of each threat to keep the game scoreless –– with the help of outfielder Mauricio Dubón robbing Freeman of a surefire two-run homer on a leaping, full-sprint effort at the short wall in left in the third.

“We felt really good about our at-bats,” Freeman said. “We just missed. They made good plays. That’s kind of how it was going. “

An inning later, however, the Dodgers would finally break through.

In his latest bit of postseason heroics, it was Hernández who broke the deadlock from the No. 9 spot, getting a changeup from Sale that caught too much of the inside corner of the plate and sending it screaming out to left for a two-run homer.

It was the 17th home run of Hernández’s illustrious playoff career. It was a drive he celebrated with a primal scream as he rounded first base. And it turned a tense Truist Park crowd silent, save for raucous reception coming from the visiting third-base dugout.

“We needed a little bit of that Kiké dust,” Roberts quipped.

Two batters later, the Dodgers bench would be going wild again.

Making his first postseason appearance in Atlanta since leaving the Braves for the Dodgers as a free agent five years ago, Freeman made sure not to be robbed again.

He squared up an inside fastball from Sale and uncorked a towering 399-foot bomb, sending it safely over the brick wall in right-center to make it a 3-0 game.

“It certainly speaks to the experience, the buy-in,” Roberts said of the Dodgers’ team-wide approach. “If you don’t get results [early in the game] when you’re committed to kind of grinding, sometimes it’s easy to come off of that. But I thought tonight from start to finish we did a good job of grinding.”

Of Sale’s 13 career playoff appearances, Tuesday was the first since his postseason debut in 2017 in which he had given up multiple home runs. And though the Dodgers have yet to score any way other than the long ball this series –– falling to 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position after another hitless showing in that category Tuesday –– Yamamoto made sure the two big flies would stand up.

Tapping back into his historically dominant form from last October, Yamamoto largely breezed through a four-hit, one-walk, 10-strikeout masterpiece, burying the Braves with a flurry of fastballs, curveballs and splitters in a 98-pitch effort.

He faced his only real trouble in the fifth, when he limited the Braves to just one run from a bases-loaded, one-out jam. 

And by the time he turned things over to the bullpen –– where Tanner Scott and, in his return to closing duties, Edwin Díaz finished off the game –– he had already outlasted Sale (who departed after the fifth) and put the Dodgers on track to a pivotal Game 3 victory.

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.

Ten strikeouts are a new postseason career high for Yamamoto, who authored the 20th double-digit strikeout game in Dodgers postseason history, and the first since Shohei Ohtani in Game 4 of the 2025 NLCS.

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)

WP — Yoshinobu Yamamoto (1-0): 7 IP, 4 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 10 strikeouts

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.

Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas left Tuesday night’s Game 3 of the National League Division Series with lower back pain, though he and the team feel he will be available if needed going forward.

Rojas was batting in the eighth inning against Braves reliever Brent Suter when he felt something on a swing, and started walking gingerly around the plate. After brief consultation with trainer Yosuke Nakajima and Roberts, Rojas was removed from the game in the middle of the at-bat, with a 1-1 count.

Tommy Edman popped out to finish the plate appearance, then played the final two innings at second base.

“He probably won’t be in there tomorrow against [Braves right-hander Tyler] Mahle. But just to have him available. Hopefully he feels better tomorrow,” manager Dave Roberts told reporters in Atlanta. “But I give him credit for conceding that at-bat because he wasn’t feeling right. So hopefully got it treated up and will feel better coming into tomorrow.”

Rojas expressed something similar to reporters in the clubhouse.

Rojas also slipped on the wet turf just beyond the infield on a groundout to end the fifth inning. Rojas lost his footing on the play but was still able to throw to first base to retire Ronald Acuña Jr.

So far this postseason Rojas has played in two of the Dodgers’ three games, both starts against a left-handed Braves pitcher, with a start at third base in Game 2 and at second base in Game 3. He doubled off Ray Kerr in Game 2 on Sunday, and was hitless in three at-bats against Chris Sale in Game 3. Rojas during the regular season hit .293/.340/.469 with a 121 wRC+ against southpaws.

The 37-year-old Rojas when he signed a one-year deal last December said his plan was to retire after the season and then move into the Dodgers front office, with a focus on player development. Whether this is actually the final ride for Rojas as a player is still up in the air.

“I’m not thinking about that at all. I’m not thinking about my future or anything. I’m thinking about a player who is hitting sixth today in the lineup to help the team win. And I still feel like I can play the game,” Rojas told reporters in Atlanta earlier Tuesday. “I will never think about stepping away from the game because of my performance or my way to play my game. I think there’s other things in life that I’m contemplating about that decision. But if I have to tell you right now, I’m not 100 percent like Kershaw was last year or others in the past that knew for sure they want to go after this year.

“For me it’s more, I would say it’s a 40/60 right now that I want to stay in the game and I want to play.”

Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Miguel Rojas left the game while at bat during Game 3 of the National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park in Atlanta on Tuesday, Oct. 6.

Rojas took a swing at a pitch from Brent Suter, which resulted in a foul ball. After the swing, Rojas could be seen in immense pain as he stepped away from the plate.

He walked back gingerly to the dugout. It was unclear what Rojas injured; however, he could be seen in the dugout pointing towards his lower back.

Tommy Edman replaced Rojas at the plate. Edman hit a pop fly to first and was caught out.

The Dodgers would go on to win the game, 3-1.

Miguel Rojas injury updates

According to reporting from The Athletic's Fabian Ardaya, Rojas thinks he should be fine in future games.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Miguel Rojas injury update after swing sends Dodger to clubhouse early