Both National League Division Series matchups took very interesting turns, with opportunities for all teams to take control over each series. Here is how each series panned out, broken down game by game.
Starting in Los Angeles, the Dodgers and the Braves faced off against each other for the first time since the 2021 National League Championship Series, when the Braves won in six games. After a wild-card series win over the Phillies, the Braves were forced to start Dylan Dodd in Game 1. After throwing three shutout innings, he couldn't get the bullpen to pick up where he left off, allowing five runs in the first three innings of relief. On the other side, Tarik Skubal got the nod for Game 1, tossing six innings, allowing one earned run. The Dodgers bullpen was strong, shutting down the Braves and taking a 5-3 Game 1 victory.
Game 2, however, was a different story. Having arguably one of the best stories in MLB, Ray Kerr tossed 2 2-3 innings, striking out four along the way. A seventh-inning gap shot from Michael Harris drove in a run, giving the Braves a 3-1 lead. Despite a ninth-inning comeback, it wasn't enough for the Dodgers to tie the game, and the Braves won 3-2.
With the series moving to Atlanta, the momentum was in the Braves' favor, and they started their ace, Chris Sale, on the mound for Game 3. But the Dodgers had another weapon in Yoshinobu Yamamoto to start Game 3 for them. As expected, another pitcher's duel followed in Games 3 and 4, with the Dodgers winning both in Atlanta and holding the Braves to just one run in each game.
With the Braves' season ending, many questions have come up about the future for this franchise, with the most popular question being, "What is the future for Ronald Acuna Jr. in Atlanta?" The superstar has not yet signed a contract extension and could be headed to free agency.
Moving the series to the north, the Milwaukee Brewers hosted the San Diego Padres for the first two games. It turned into a historically close series, with nail-biters in every game.
Game 1 started with "The Miz," Jacob Misorowski, taking the bump for the Brewers. The Padres jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on RBI hits from Luis Campusano and Jake Cronenworth. Milwaukee crawled back, eventually taking the lead on a William Contreras moonshot in the seventh. The lead gave the Brewers' bullpen confidence, and they shut down the Padres for the rest of the game, with a little help from the home-field advantage. Ty France, who supposedly was looking at a go-ahead home run in the ninth inning, got an unlucky bounce off the roof, bringing the ball back into the park where Jackson Chourio camped under it for a flyout.
With their backs against the wall, San Diego needed Game 2 to get back in the win column. Starting their ace, Michael King, the Padres had Game 2 in their hands entering the ninth inning. Bringing in the best closer in baseball, Mason Miller, it seemed like a sure win for the Friars. But the closer showed the MLB world something it hadn't seen all season. Walking a couple of batters and allowed a hit that left the bases loaded with two outs, bringing Chourio to the plate. This led to an all-time at-bat, with Chourio coming up clutch with a 2-RBI walk-off single that brought the Brew Crew one step closer to another NLCS appearance.
The Padres, with their backs against the wall and down 2-0, at least had the next two games in San Diego. The Padres won 4-3 in Game 3, with King coming in for a six-out save while key relievers Miller and Adrian Morejon were unavailable.
Game 4, however, did not end with the same result. The bottom of the eighth inning gave them hope, but the Brewers quickly snatched it away. Garrett Mitchell robbed Manny Machado of a potential game-tying home run, leaving Padres fans in utter disbelief. That left no gas in the tank, and the Brewers claimed the series with a 3-1 final score.
The Brewers' bullpen was absolutely dominant against the Padres, posting a sub-0.50 ERA over the series. Even through this dominance, no team ever led by more than two runs. The Brewers will look to continue their bullpen dominance against the reigning World Series Champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers, starting Sunday, Oct. 11, at 8 p.m. ET at Dodger Stadium on FOX.