The Dodgers took control of their NL Division Series on Tuesday night, and the Padres ensured they would have one more game — and another chance to play in “All The Small Things.”
In Atlanta, Yoshinobu Yamamoto struck out 10 of his postseason career in seven innings, while Kiké Hernández and Freddie Freeman homered in the same inning against Braves ace Chris Sale for a 3-1 win in Los Angeles. The Dodgers lead the series 2-1 and are one win from the NLCS in their quest for a third consecutive World Series title.
In San Diego, Jake Cronenworth hit a single and Xander Boegarts scored on a throwing error to help the Padres beat the Brewers 4-3. That means the Brewers, who lead the series 2-1, will try to advance to their second straight NLCS on Wednesday.
In the AL, Wednesday brings ALDS Game 3, with the White Sox and Rays each 2-0 and the Guardians and Yankees on the brink.
Here’s what stood out from Day 4 of the MLB Division Series:
The greatest moment
Each game in the Brewers vs. The Padres have been a nail biter, and Game 3 in front of a loud and packed Petco Park in San Diego was no different.
With clutch hitting and some nice defensive plays, we don’t want this streak to end. Thankfully, we’ll have a Game 4 as the Padres held on for a 4-3 win. In fact, every game in this series has been decided by one run.
The defining moment was a freak play in the bottom of the sixth inning when first baseman Xander Bogaerts showed great athleticism by avoiding the barrel of Miguel Andojar’s breaking ball. Cooper Pratt’s errant throw in the Brewers’ first inning was fielded by Jake Bauers, allowing Bogaerts to go home.
Kudos also to Padres shortstop Michael King, who came in the eighth inning in relief to earn his first save since 2023 with the Yankees. He showed courage in the ninth inning when he got Brewers designated hitter Christian Yelich to ground into a double play to secure the win.
There will be some sighs of relief throughout the Gaslamp Quarter tonight as the Padres try to avoid elimination once again on Wednesday.
The best striker
Kiké Hernández was the surprise of a lineup that Dave Roberts shuffled in front of the pitch to counter Sale.
Making his first playoff start, Hernández came on in the fourth inning after Andy Pages singled and activated a changeup in Sale that stood up, driving it into the left-field seats for a two-run homer to put the Dodgers ahead.
It was his 12th postseason homer as a Dodger and 17th of his postseason career, and it increased the Dodgers’ win probability by nearly 21%.
Freeman followed one more later with a single to right, his 18th of his postseason career, for a 3-0 lead. Freeman had been robbed once before when Mauricio Dubón made a leaping catch over the left field wall.
Sale, who had dominated the Dodgers earlier in the season, left after allowing three runs on seven hits in five innings. Hernández has a long record as a hitter in the postseason, and his homer was the pace that put the Dodgers in position for a series lead.
The best pitcher
Yoshinobu Yamamoto made his first postseason appearance since closing Game 7 of last year’s World Series, and he looked like the MVP of that series. He struck out 10 in seven innings, a postseason career high that surpassed his previous mark of nine in Game 2 of last year’s NL Wild Card series, and allowed just four hits, one walk and one run.
The Dodgers hadn’t used him until Game 3, starting lefties Tarik Skubal and Blake Snell against the Braves in Games 1 and 2.
The Braves loaded the bases with one out in the fifth and scratched out a run on Drake Baldwin’s groundout, but Yamamoto was otherwise in complete control. “I felt really good with my fastball,” he said.
He is the first Dodger with seven more hits, 10 hits and one run or less in a postseason start since Snell in Game 1 of the 2025 Wild Card, and the third Japanese-born pitcher with double-digit hits in a postseason game, joining Shohei Ohtani and Hiroki Kuroda. He is 8-1 in his postseason career.
What’s next
The streak continues with NLDS Game 4 and ALDS Game 3s on Wednesday. Here’s how it will play out:
- Wednesday, Oct. 7: Rangers at White Sox (Game 3), 4 p.m. ET. The White Sox lead the series 2-0.
- Wednesday, October 7: Dodgers at Braves (Game 4), 6:00 PM ET on FS1. The Dodgers lead the series 2-1.
- Wednesday, Oct. 7: Rays at Yankees (Game 3), 8 p.m. ET. The Rays lead the series 2-0.
- Wednesday, October 7: Brewers at Padres (Game 4), time TBD. The Brewers lead the series 2-1.
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