The Dodgers are better than you. They’re smarter than you. They’re richer and deeper and more popular than you. You know it, they know it, there’s no point pretending otherwise.

So, yes, they went into the National League Divisional Series looking past the threadbare Atlanta Braves and thinking about the National League Championship Series.

Who does that? In the playoffs?

Your two-time World Series champions with the world’s best starting pitching rotation and a 1-0 NLDS series lead, that’s who.

The way the Dodgers did the math, it made sense to save their ace of aces, Yoshinobu Yamamoto — who last postseason went 5-1, had an ERA of 1.45 and 33 strikeouts in six appearances and won the World Series MVP — for Game 3 of the NLDS.

Read more:Plaschke: Kyle Tucker becomes unlikely NLDS hero with Dodgers poised for series sweep

Not for the tone-setting Game 1 and, potentially, Game 5 on regular rest.

But Game 3.

Because to the Dodgers, that’s not even much of a calculated risk. It was a math problem specific to them, before they beat the Atlanta Braves 5-3 in Game 1 in 100-degree heat Saturday afternoon.

They figured they’d be able to throw two consecutive left-handers at the lefty-averse Braves lineup, starting Saturday with recently acquired two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, followed Sunday by Blake Snell, also a two-time Cy Young winner.

Additionally, this way they could have Yamamoto pitch Tuesday on the road, where his ERA is 1.77 instead of at home, where it’s 3.13. And where he’s given up 14 home runs compared with six on the road, where he’s made four fewer starts.

But mostly the Dodgers’ calculus was that having Yamamoto pitch Game 3 means it will line up so that they’ll have him for Game 2 in the NLCS and, if necessary, Game 6 against the Milwaukee Brewers or San Diego Padres. (Or, if you really want to plan ahead — and the Dodgers with their leaky bullpen absolutely should not — for Game 1 of the World Series.)

“That just sets up the rotation and Yamamoto better looking forward,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts explained before Saturday’s game.

“Not discounting this series, because you’ve got to win this series first, but you start from the fact that they’re all going to pitch — the three [Skubal, Snell and Yamamoto] are going to pitch for sure ... and then what sets them up going forward.”

It feels like a faux pas, to be that forward-thinking, and to be saying the quiet part out loud!

“If you can kind of line it up in such a way to give guys ample rest, it puts you in a better position for more options down the road,” Roberts said. “That’s kind of some of the math we had.”

I mean, it adds up. And for these Dodgers — whose fourth starter, Tyler Glasnow, was a key cog in last year’s World Series-winning rotation — it’s a fair assessment.

Read more:'He's a competitor.' Tarik Skubal's dominant outing stakes Dodgers to NLDS Game 1 win

Though it’s nice of Roberts to pay enough lip service that he’s not totally discounting the best-of-five current series they’re in.

Predictably on Saturday, Skubal, who previously had a 2.04 ERA, a 0.73 WHIP and 56 strikeouts in 39⅔ playoff innings for the Detroit Tigers, brought his own October heat.

The 29-year-old from Kingman, Ariz., gave up just one run and two hits, walked two and struck out seven — giving him 64 in the postseason, the second most in his first seven postseason appearances behind only Bob Gibson (74), per MLB’s Sarah Langs.

Skubal retired 15 consecutive, hit 101 on the radar gun in the second inning and didn’t have a three-ball count until the fifth inning.

“We knew,” Braves manager Walt Weiss said, “it was going to be a rough ride.”

But Weiss did not know, immediately after Saturday’s loss, when he’d be able to deploy his sole ace, 37-year-old Chris Sale, the 10-time All-Star who just pitched in the Braves’ Game 3 wild-card closeout.

“To me it’s not that big a deal when he pitches,” Weiss said. “The Dodgers can’t win it in two.”

A true statement and a matter of fact: The Dodgers can’t win in two, but they’re not shy about expecting to win.

Read more:Shaikin: Dodgers are forcing Braves to make tough decision about Chris Sale

“It’s prudent to kind of map out potentially how they could line up,” Roberts said Friday. “And that’s just doing your due diligence.

“We are very fortunate because we have four guys essentially that you could really kind of pick through to figure out what’s the best way to deploy all four starters, that’s the exercise. But it starts with having four talented guys.”

Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, reveled in the notion that his club might actually be disproving the rule that you can never have enough pitching — at least when it comes to their elite quartet of starters.

And that, Friedman said, “is very impactful for quality of life.”

And the Dodgers aren’t afraid to say it.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Turns out that maybe pursuing Munetaka Murakami may have been the right idea for the Phillies after all. His first career playoff home run led the White Sox to victory and showed other teams yet again that they made a mistake in not going harder after him.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• There are a lot of questions the team needs to answer this offseason. Where Trea Turner plays is at the top of it ($).
• Don Mattingly got a lot of praise from his team for how he handled this season. It might not matter when it comes to his job ($).

MLB news:

• Joe Espada saw his general manager fired with a few weeks left in the season, but he hopes to remain on as Astros manager.
• Apparently, the Yankees had a chance to top the Red Sox’ final trade package to acquire Adley Rutschman from the Orioles.
• What do these insiders think Tarik Skubal will be making once he enters free agency? More important is the who will sign him.

Entering the playoffs, the Yankees knew they’d have to win their share of tight, low-scoring games if they wanted to advance deep into the playoffs. You know, the type of games that became their trademark during the second half of the season, as the offense floundered without Aaron Judge but the team still surged in the standings thanks to a fistful of 3-2 and 2-1 victories.

That was the kind of the game the Yankees had to win last night. Instead, the Rays staff executed just a hair better, and New York will turn to their ace in Game 2 hoping to stabilize in this series rather than take a commanding lead, having missed a massive opportunity to put Tampa on the backfoot.

It’s the kind of missed chance that will sting so much because of how well the Yankees’ pitching strategy for this game worked out. Gerrit Cole wasn’t at his sharpest, but he wasn’t bad either, managing to hold the Rays to just one run over five innings. Aaron Boone then did good work leveraging his bullpen (as he’s done for much of this season), tabbing Ryan Weathers for his postseason debut, and bringing in Paul Blackburn and Brent Headrick at opportune moments, getting three no-hit innings from the trio. 

It wasn’t enough, in large part thanks to a superlative performance from Rays right-hander Drew Rasmussen. Though the Yankees’ bats showed poorly in this game and made a couple key mistakes (more on that later), the story of this game is Rasmussen. The right-hander carried a no-hitter into the eighth, ultimately shutting the Yankees out over eight innings while allowing one hit, two walks, and striking out ten.

Rasmussen adjusted adeptly facing the lefty-heavy Yankee lineup, ramping up the usage of his cutter and changeup. The cambio in particular devastated the Yankees, the Bombers swinging 18 times at the change and whiffing ten times. Rasmussen’s changeup is a power one, diving beneath hitters’ bats at 89-90 mph, and the Yankees had no chance when he located it well:

He also showed deft control of his heaters, painting the corner to generate a number of called strikes with his cutter and sinker:

The Yankees didn’t do enough to make Rasmussen uncomfortable, only occasionally working deep counts and finding trouble squaring up the ball when they did make contact. But ultimately, Rasmussen is a very good pitcher who turned in the game of his life when the lights were brightest. The Yankees needed someone to break through and make a play, on a night where stringing together a rally against the opposing pitcher was a tall task. Austin Wells tried to be that someone when he roped the line drive down the right-field line that broke up Rasmussen’s no-no, attempting to stretch a double into a triple with two outs in the eighth:

It was an inexplicable decision regardless of the result. Using some back-of-the-napkin win probability math, Wells advancing to third there would’ve raised the Yankees’ chances of winning by roughly one percentage point, while getting thrown out reduced their odds by something like seven or eight percent. To justify going for it, Wells needed to feel he had a nearly 90 percent chance of advancing, something he very clearly didn’t have as Victor Mesa Jr. gathered to throw from right.

This series is far from over after one game, but the Yankees had a real chance to put the Rays in a bind here. They limited the Rays to one run on five hits, a scenario they surely would’ve taken before the game had it been presented to them. Any sort of offense would have resulted in New York taking a 1-0 lead in Tampa Bay, with the presumptive AL Cy Young winner ready to take the ball and bury the Rays in Game 2. Instead, Cam Schlittler will need to shove just to keep his team from falling into a 2-0 ALDS hole for the second consecutive season.

Schlittler will be up for the job, and the Yankees may very well find themselves back in the series come Monday night. But this is a tough, solid Rays squad, one that will be to hard to crack. The Yankees could’ve given themselves a chance to break them, but Rasmussen had other plans.

On the site today, Kevin discusses the (Yankees) player of the game from Game 1, Gerrit Cole. Also, Madison recaps the rest of the action from a busy day of playoff baseball yesterday, and John spins through the week in Yankees social media, while Matt’s entry in our Yankees Birthday series highlights Frankie Crosetti.

Today’s Matchup:

Offday.

Newsday: The Yankees dropped Game 1 against the Rays on Saturday night. The story of the game was Tampa Bay starter Drew Rasmussen, who completely shut down the Yankees, taking a no-hitter into the eighth inning.

The Athletic | Chris Kirschner: The Yankees ended up sticking with Gerrit Cole to start game one of the ALDS, despite his struggles at points this season and despite Carlos Rodón’s impressive run to end the season. However, the reason they ended up going with Cole was that they plan on using all four starters during the series and they liked Cole in Tropicana Field and believe his “stuff” would play up better there. While he wasn’t perfect, Cole was hardly the reason the Yankees lost Game 1, allowing one run in five innings.

New York Post | Jon Heyman: Speaking of pitching, Matt Blake’s contract is reportedly up after the 2026 season. After leading the league in ERA this past season and having a pretty stellar pitching staff in general, the Yankees are unsurprisingly hoping to retain him.

MLB Trade Rumors | Mark Polishuk: There’s nothing that can be done at this point, but we did get some intel on the Yankees’ trade deadline, specifically around catcher Adley Rutschman, who ended up going from the Orioles to the Red Sox. Baltimore reportedly would’ve accepted a Yankees’ trade package, but the sticking point on the Yankees’ end was around prospect Yostin Pena, who rocketed onto the scene this past season.

Jacob Misiorowski did not have his best stuff tonight. Far from it, despite the 104.8 MPH velocity on the first pitch of the game. But even with the bumps, he kept things from spiraling too far out of reach and relied on his teammates to pick him up as the Brewers were able to secure the 3-2 win in Game 1 of the NLDS.

Things were looking shaky early with the Padres working Misiorowski’s pitch count up to 25 pitches in the 1st, then the Padres rattled off three straight singles in the 2nd inning to take an early lead. With runners at the corners, Jake Bauers couldn’t cleanly field a hot shot grounder and then threw the ball to home rather than step on first for a sure out. Contreras couldn’t catch it clean either and a run scored to make it 2-0 Padres.

Through one and a half innings, Jacob Misiorowski was at 58 pitches while Robbie Ray was at seven. The momentum was squarely in the Padres favor.

Then things turned in the 3rd inning, after a leadoff broken bat single from Garrett Mitchell, Jackson Chourio stepped to the plate and was swinging away at a first pitch slider.

Jackson Chourio slugged the fifth postseason home run of his young career, already giving him the most in Brewers franchise history. At just 22 years old, Chourio lives for these clutch moments.

“He’s gifted. He’s a beautiful spirit. He’s gifted mentally. He’s smiling every day and nothing gets him down.” Pat Murphy said.

“I’m the type of player that I’m always going to give everything I have. I’m always going to give 100 percent. I like playing in these scenarios. I like playing in these kinds of games.” Chourio said.

That brought the game even a 2-2 and the Brewers then had chances for more. Brice Turang and William Contreras had back-to-back walks, then Jake Bauers dropped in a bloop single and the bases were loaded with one out. Robbie Ray was on the ropes. Christian Yelich then hit a shallow fly to left, too shallow to score Turang, and then Craig Stammen went to his bullpen.

Cooper Pratt grounded into a force out to end the threat in the 3rd. However, both teams would have numerous more chances throughout this game to break the tie. The Padres had 12 runners left on base, the Brewers had nine. But no one could break through.

That was, until William Contreras came up with two outs in the bottom of the 7th against Adrian Morejon.

Contreras launched his third career postseason home run and each of them have been go-ahead blasts with two outs.

That pushed the Brewers lead to 3-2 and they again had chances to add on. Jake Bauers singled, then Andrew Vaughn pinch hit for Yelich and singled. With two on, and the chance for big insurance, Cooper Pratt struck out to end the inning.

Meanwhile, the Brewers bullpen was picking up Jacob Misiorowski, who lasted just 4 innings and threw 88 pitches. Antonio Senzatela ran into some trouble in the 5th taking over for Misiorowski, but Aaron Ashby was able to come in and get the final out of the inning. Ashby then cruised through the 6th and got the first out of the 7th before turning the ball over to Abner Uribe.

Uribe put some traffic on the bases, which led to DL Hall walking into a bases loaded, two out situation in the 7th inning. Hall got Jackson Merrill to pop out to left to end the threat with no harm done.

Trevor Megill was called upon to make a four-out save. He quickly dispatched Fernando Tatis Jr to finish off the 8th with three straight fastballs to punch him out. In the 9th, Dustin Harris led things off with a single, putting some tension on the big moments. Manny Machado, forever a villain in Milwaukee, struck out for the first out of the inning.

Then things got weird. Ty France lifted a rain-making fly ball down the left field line, it looked like it was probably hooking foul, but before it could, the ball hit the roof cables and was brought down right into the glove of Chourio in the left field corner. After a lengthy conversation from the umpires and review, the ball was judged to have hit the cable in fair territory and by the ground rules, it was a live ball and since it was caught, it was an out.

“Ueck decided to put his hand on it and swat it down so Chourio could catch it. So thanks, Ueck” Pat Murphy said.

“I thought I had a chance on that ball kind of the whole time off the bat. Then the only thing I kind of realized it changed direction a little bit, but i thought I had a beat on it for the majority of the time.” Chourio said.

It came down to the wire in this game, a 3-2 victory with the roof cable wires potentially wiping a home run off the board and for sure leading directly to an out in the 9th inning. They got the big hits when they needed them. The Brewers don’t hit a ton of homers and that’s been a talking point all season, but they hit two in Game 1 and they were the difference in the ballgame.

The Brewers will be back at it Sunday afternoon with a 3 PM first pitch for Game 2. Logan Henderson will be on the mound for the Crew.