October 4, 2026 · By Marcus · 4 min read
Tarik Skubal was exactly what the Dodgers traded for.
The left-hander dominated over six innings of one-run, two-hit ball in his first postseason start for Los Angeles as the Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 5-3 in NLDS Game 1 on Saturday at Dodger Stadium, opening their chase for a third straight championship.
Skubal's arrival
This is what the August acquisition was for. Skubal, who joined the Dodgers on Aug. 2, allowed one run on two hits across six innings, with Sean Murphy's homer the only real damage in his first postseason start in Dodger blue.
The three-peat chase
No National League club has ever won three straight World Series. No MLB team has done it since the 1998-2000 Yankees. That is the mountain this Dodgers team is climbing, and Game 1 looked like a team that knows the route.
Teoscar Hernandez, Kyle Tucker and Max Muncy all homered. Tucker's blast was the loudest statement: after a miserable regular season, the quiet right fielder got a sunflower seed shower from Mookie Betts in the dugout. "He's such a good dude," Skubal said. "He works his butt off. Results don't always reward the work, but in moments like this, you're going to get rewarded."
via MLB.com
Tucker turned it around over the last three weeks of September, batting .333 with five homers in his last 17 games after hitting .221 with 12 homers across his first 137. "It's exciting," Tucker said. "Anytime you can help contribute to a win, whether it's early in the game, late in the game, is huge."
via MLB.com
Game 1, in context
- 6 IP, 1 run, 2 hits. Skubal's first postseason start in a Dodgers uniform.
- Three homers. Hernandez, Tucker and Muncy went deep. Sean Murphy and Ozzie Albies homered for Atlanta.
- Game 2 is Sunday evening in Los Angeles.
The betting angle
Championship experience is real but expensive. The Dodgers will be priced like the Dodgers in every game of this run, and Game 1 showed why: they have another gear and they have Skubal. But Atlanta put up three runs and made the ninth interesting, and the market will keep taxing the three-peat narrative. Make Los Angeles prove the price. The value in this series is more likely on game-by-game spots where the pitching matchup narrows, not on series futures at a premium.