The trap had been set.
A five-day layoff. A seemingly worn-down opponent. An afternoon start amid 100-degree temperatures. Empty seats littered throughout the blistering hot ballpark.
The Dodgers entered this October trying to keep a narrowed focus amid their quest for a World Series three-peat. They talked of ignoring the bigger historical stakes and suffocating outside expectations.
In Game 1 of the National League Division Series on Saturday, that mindset was tested.
The result: A 5-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves.
“It all starts with winning Game 1,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I do think that momentum is certainly in our favor.”
On paper, Saturday was always a matchup the Dodgers should have won. They had a reigning two-time Cy Young Award winner on the mound in Tarik Skubal. They were facing a Braves team that was forced to grind through a three-game wild-card series against the Philadelphia Phillies this week –– while the Dodgers were enjoying a first-round bye –– and had no choice but to run a bullpen game in the best-of-five series opener.
Still, danger loomed.
Would their hitters still be in rhythm after their extended pre-NLDS pause? Would Skubal hold up during the hottest Dodger Stadium playoff game since the 2017 World Series? Would they be able to immediately flip the switch in search of a third-straight title?
The answers were resounding.
Yes, yes and yes.
“I thought guys were going out there, they were getting really good swings off, and that’s not always easy to do after you’ve had several days off and you haven’t been in game action,” third baseman Max Muncy said. “[You can’t replicate] just the emotion of playing in a postseason game. And to be able to see the aggressiveness out of the entire lineup, I think that was really big for us. I think it helped us out.”
Skubal was largely dominant over a six-inning, one-run, seven-strikeout start.
Teoscar Hernández produced his latest October highlight by crushing a two-run homer to open the scoring in the fourth.
And the Dodgers pulled away late behind more big flies from Muncy and Kyle Tucker.
Game 2 of this series will be back at Dodger Stadium on Sunday night at 5 p.m.
But already, the two-time defending champions passed their first big test of this postseason trek, side-stepping a potential trap game to strike first in the NLDS.
Playing before a generously listed, and heat-averse, crowd of just 50,194 –– the Dodgers’ smallest for a playoff game since 2016 –– it did take the club a few innings to find its way.
Skubal’s command wasn’t crisp in the top of the first, as he worked around a leadoff single from Drake Baldwin by ultimately stranding him at second. The Dodgers’ lineup couldn’t get a bead on left-handed Braves opener Dylan Dodd, who gave the Braves three scoreless frames on a season-high 47 pitches.
The slow start, however, was snapped in a two-batter sequence in the bottom of the fourth, swinging the game in the Dodgers’ favor for good.
With Braves right-hander Victor Mederos on the mound, Freddie Freeman drew a four-pitch walk with one out in the inning. Then, Hernández stepped up to the plate and got a 1-1 cutter right down the middle.
The 431-foot drive was such a no-doubter, Hernández watched it all the way from the left-handed batter’s box, then flung his bat almost all the way back to the dugout with an authoritative underhand toss.
“It’s about what can I do in an at-bat, pitch by pitch, to help this team win ten more games this year,” Hernández said.
For a moment, the 2-0 lead felt almost insurmountable.
Skubal was looking so dominant –– retiring 15 batters in a row after Baldwin’s game-opening single –– a group of fans in the left-field pavilion passed the time in the top of the fifth by doing an impromptu roll call (Yankee Stadium-style) for all the Dodgers fielders on defense.
Alas, trouble would arise in the sixth. Braves catcher Sean Murphy jumped on an elevated two-strike sinker to send a leadoff home run to center. Walks to light-hitting No. 9 hitter Ha-Seong Kim and infielder Ozzie Albies followed later in the inning, prompting a mound visit from pitching coach Mark Prior as the Dodgers’ bullpen began to stir.
The Dodgers, however, acquired Skubal at the trade deadline for moments like this.
And even with the Braves’ best hitter, first baseman Matt Olson, at the plate, the superstar left-hander didn’t waver, getting Olson to fly out to left field to cap off his 94-pitch start.
“We’re up 2-1 there, and I’m doing my best to keep it there as we come in,” Skubal said. “To be able to get out of the inning with just one run was huge.”
Minutes later, the Dodgers would pull away.
After hitting just five home runs in the entire regular season at Dodger Stadium, Tucker continued his recent turnaround by launching a two-run blast to right off AJ Smith-Shawver. Two batters later, Muncy also left the yard, padding his lead as the Dodgers’ all-time postseason home run leader with the 17th long ball of his October career.
Leading 5-1 at that point, the Dodgers turned to the bullpen. Brock Stewart and Alex Vesia provided a couple perfect innings in the seventh and eighth. Tanner Scott then created a brief scare in the ninth, giving up a two-run homer to Ozzie Albies, before settling down with a couple groundouts and turning things over to Evan Phillips to put the game away.
In the end, despite the heat and the bye-week and the trap-game circumstances, the Dodgers prevailed.
It was a decisive first step toward adding to their dynasty.
One win down. Ten more to go.
