It was 100 degrees at first pitch Saturday — 105 by feels-like. Tarik Skubal didn't notice. The two-time Cy Young winner carved Atlanta up for six innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts in his first home postseason start as a Dodger, and Los Angeles took NLDS Game 1, 5-3. The three-peat chase is on: no NL club has won three straight, and no MLB team since the '98-'00 Yankees.
The damage came in three swings: Teoscar Hernández's two-run homer in the fourth, Kyle Tucker's two-run shot in the sixth, and a Max Muncy solo homer after that. For Tucker, sweet vindication — .715 OPS in year one of a four-year, $240 million deal before September woke his bat up. The Braves answered with homers from Sean Murphy and a 432-foot Ozzie Albies blast in the ninth that made it 5-3, but Evan Phillips got Austin Riley to ground out for the save.
Atlanta's staff was running on fumes — the wild-card slog against Philadelphia forced ace Chris Sale into relief in the decider. Skubal, a Tiger at the deadline, is now dealing in October for the two-time defending champs with a monster payday looming. "I haven't heard him mention one thing about free agency," Muncy said. "All he's talked about is pitching here, competing with us, making it through this playoff run." Game 2 is Sunday night, with the heat warning still on.
