Teams that take a 2-1 Division Series lead end up advancing to the Championship Series 67% of the time. Los Angeles are now one win away from making it three straight Championship Series appearances for the first time in franchise history.
Their quest for a three-peat grows closer as they look to become the first-ever National League team to accomplish such and only the third franchise ever.
The incredible feat was done four times in MLB history, three by the New York Yankees (1936–1939, 1949–1953, 1998–2000) and the other by the Oakland Athletics (1972–1974).
Full recap and highlights
Despite the Dodgers having a runner in scoring position in each of the first two innings, Braves' ace Chris Sale wouldn't be denied as he became the eighth pitcher in Postseason history to record six strikeouts in the first two innings. The last pitcher to do it was Philadelphia Phillies' Zack Wheeler in 2023, ironically against the Braves.
Sale is also the second Braves pitcher to accomplish the feat (Mike Hampton - 2003).
On the other side, reigning World Series MVP Yamamoto was dealing, racking up four strikeouts through two innings on just 32 pitches and allowing one hit [a href="https://x.com/MLB/status/2107605451600711796?s=20" target="_blank"]as his splitter was as pristine as ever[/a].
Atlanta left fielder Mauricio Dubon made the play of the game in the top of the third inning as he brought back what would've been a two-run home run by Freddie Freeman.
The Dodgers loaded the bases following a Will Smith single, his first hit of the Postseason after going 0-for-9, and a catcher's interference that put Shohei Ohtani on first with two outs. But Sale got out of it after Miguel Rojas lined out to Ronald Acuna Jr. in right field.
However, the bailouts didn't last long for Sale.
Meanwhile, Yamamoto continued to deal from the bump. He put up the same number of strikeouts as Sale (6) through the first three innings on 18 fewer pitches, with the only hit given up still being the bunt by Michael Harris II.
The Dodgers finally got around on Sale as Kike Hernandez launched a two-run home run in the top of the fourth to take a 2-0 lead. He now has 17 Postseason home runs for his career in a franchise-most 94 games.
Los Angeles kept piling on in the fourth. After being denied a home run earlier, Freeman launched one to right field to make it 3-0 against his former team. The star first baseman now has as many Postseason home runs with the Dodgers (9) as he did with the Braves.
All 10 of the Dodgers' runs to start this Postseason have come via home run, marking a new Postseason record.
The inning marked the end of Sale's night as he finished with three runs on seven hits with no walks and seven strikeouts.
Yamamoto continued to roll. Through the first four innings, the Japanese superstar didn't face more than four batters in each of the first four innings. He entered the fifth with seven strikeouts, allowing just two hits on 57 pitches (47 strikeouts).
Dubon became the first leadoff hitter to reach base during the bottom of the fifth. Lane Thomas followed with a single of his own, with a pinch-hit walk from Rowdy Tellez (in for Ha-Seong Kim, then substituted for pinch runner Brewer Hicklen), to load the bases with just one out.
Drake Baldwin grounded out to first, but brought in Dubon from third to make it 3-1. Acuna Jr. had a chance to bring the Braves back into the game, but eventually grounded out to Rojas at second for the final out of the inning.
While the Braves' bullpen became a problem for the Dodgers, it was Yamamoto who continued to be the real problem. His 10 strikeouts entering the eighth inning tied a career high in both the regular season and Postseason.
Yamamoto was pulled after seven innings, giving up just one run on four hits with one walk and 10 strikeouts (98 pitches, 62 strikes). He became the fourth pitcher to reach at least 10 K's in a start this Postseason, joining Cleveland Guardians' Gavin Williams (11 - ALDS Game 2), Tampa Bay Rays' Drew Rasmussen (10 - ALDS Game 1), and Yankees' Cam Schlittler (10 - Wild Card Game 1).
Rojas eventually left the game with a back injury that he sustained on the final out of the fifth inning. Tommy Edman took his place at second and finished the night 0-for-2 at the plate.
Tanner Scott and Edwin Diaz finished off the game in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, despite the Braves' last-ditch attempt at a rally in the final frame. Ozzie Albies doubled off the right field wall with no outs, but the Braves couldn't finish it off.
Game 4 of the NLDS between the Dodgers and Braves will take place on Wednesday, October 7th in Atlanta.