Monday, October 5, 2026

Copyrighted by Sarah Morris, 2026

Oh no!

The Los Angeles Dodgers lost a game in the NLDS.

The sky is falling.

No!

The Dodgers have an uphill battle because they are playing two games in Atlanta. They have to face Chris Sale on Tuesday.

If Jacob Misiorowski wasn’t winning the National League Cy Young Award, Sale would have been in serious consideration.

In August, Sale dominated the Dodgers in a complete-game shutout.

However, on May 8, the Dodgers beat Sale. Kyle Tucker, Shohei Ohtani, and Freddie Freeman had important hits.

The Dodgers must have timely hitting to advance to the NLCS. This has been a problem since the beginning of July, but there is a glimmer of hope. Teoscar Hernández and Tucker had two-run homers in Game 1. Freeman has had hits in each game and said he feels good.

The Dodgers must build deep counts against Sale, so he will reach his pitch count early in the game.  At 37, Sale probably won’t pitch another complete game. He pitched in relief during the Wild Card series. Although he has had regular rest since then, pitching in relief can mess up a pitcher’s timing. This is unlikely with Sale, but it is possible.

The Dodgers must win one of the two games to force the NLDS back to Dodger Stadium. This isn’t an impossible task, particularly with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow on the mound. They are good pitchers, too.

The Dodgers have the experience in this position. In 2024, they were tied when they went to Petco Park, and they split the next two games. They came home and won the NLDS on their journey to the first consecutive World Series title.

The Braves are a good team. They have power. They field well. Before injuries decimated their starting rotation, they had quality starting pitching. The Dodgers have seen their bullpen, and it isn’t too shabby.

But the Dodgers are better. They had the second-best record in the National League. They earned the bye, which allowed Freeman to rest and work on his batting stroke.

No World Series title is easy to earn. Vin Scully often said that nothing came easy to the Dodgers. They are trying to do something that hasn’t happened in the National League ever: winning a three-peat.

Can they?

Absolutely.

Will they?

No one knows. Have faith in the Dodgers.