Dodgers 3, Braves 1 – 2026 NLDS Game 3: Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivers yet again, outdueling Chris Sale and riding the dongs of Enrique Hernandez & Freddie Freeman

Chad Moriyama 10/06/2026 Game Recaps Leave A Comment

Game 3 of the 2026 NLDS was the kind of pitching matchup in a pivotal series game that the postseason is all about, with Hall Of Famer Chris Sale arguably having his best season yet and being up against reigning World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

Respect.

Things started out ideally for the Dodgers, as Sale was forced to work throughout the game, and they broke through with homers from (who else?) Enrique Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the 4th. Yamamoto then mostly cruised through seven frames, navigating expertly through his major trouble in the 5th to give the Dodgers a lead late. From there, Tanner Scott and Edwin Diaz shut the door for a 3-1 win.

Huge.

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The Dodgers had their biggest advantages on paper in the first two games of the series and split them, so in a now crucial Game 3 they had to deal with likely the only game of the series they’d be underdogs.

It lived up to the billing early.

Sale & Yamamoto exchange early zeros

To start the game, Chris Sale faced some traffic in the 1st. Mookie Betts started things by working a full count, and then hit a squibber down the line at first for an infield single. After a Freddie Freeman strikeout, Teoscar Hernandez hit a ball into the hole at short, but Ha-Seong Kim got handcuffed for an error and two were on with one out. However, Sale did Sale things, striking out Will Smith and Shohei Ohtani to give him whiffs for all his outs. More frustration with RISP for the Dodgers, though he did throw 24 pitches.

The 2nd started with two more strikeouts, but then Kyle Tucker singled on the first pitch he saw and promptly got a massive jump to take second. However, that chance also was wasted as Enrique Hernandez struck out to end the frame. 18 more pitches for Sale to put him at 42.

The Dodgers got more traffic against Sale in the 3rd, as Mookie started with a single to left that Kim couldn’t make a play on. Freddie was up next and drove a 1-2 fastball to left, but Mauricio Dubon tracked it down crashing into the wall and it looked like he took away a two-run homer.

After a Teoscar Hernandez flyout put Sale on the verge of ending the inning, Will Smith followed by singling to left with Mookie running to corner the runners. Shohei then reached on a catcher’s interference error when he hit the glove of Drake Baldwin while swinging to load the bases up. Unfortunately, Miguel Rojas lined out to right on the first pitch, ending the threat. It did take another 20 pitches, which ran him up to 62 on the night at least.

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On the other end, Yoshinobu Yamamoto started well in the 1st by retiring the side on 15 pitches, including a pair of strikeouts (one of which saw Ronald Acuna Jr. burn a challenge). The 2nd saw the first baserunner of the game for the Braves in a one-out bunt single from Michael Harris II, assisted by Yoshi slipping while trying to make the play. However, he was left there as Yamamoto struck out a pair in a 17-pitch frame.

He arguably had his best inning so far in the 3rd, striking out a pair more on just 12 pitches to put him at a cool 44 through three shutout.

Enrique & Freddie give the Dodgers the lead

Sale began the 4th and was greeted by a single from Andy Pages, after which the hard contact continued when Kyle Tucker lined out to second. That proved insightful, as Enrique Hernandez got a 1-0 changeup and absolutely drilled it to left for a two-run homer to make it 2-0 Dodgers.

After the second out, Freddie made sure an 0-1 sinker couldn’t be robbed from him this time, smacking it to right for a homer to make it 3-0 Dodgers.

Teoscar then gave one a ride to left but it fell short to end that crooked number of an inning. It was also another 18 pitches for Sale.

He came back out for the 5th and got a clean inning on 15 pitches, including getting Shohei to waste a challenge on a 3-0 strike, but he was laboring and was up to 95 pitches.

Thus, Walt Weiss ended his day there, and the Dodgers did as well as one could expect against him.

Yamamoto stays locked in

On the other side, Yamamoto resumed in the 4th, now having some cushion to operate with. He gave up a one-out single to Matt Olson, but otherwise just took 13 pitches to get through the frame.

The 5th is where Yoshi ran into real trouble for the first time, as Mauricio Dubon greeted him with a soft single on a 2-2 split and Lane Thomas followed by ripping a first-pitch cutter to left to put a pair on with nobody out. While Austin Riley popped out after that, Rowdy Tellez hit for Kim and drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases (Brewer Hicklen ran for Tellez and went to left after, shifting Dubon to short). In a major jam with the top of the order up, Drake Baldwin hit a first-pitch split into the ground to Freddie for an out, scoring Dubon and making it 3-1 Dodgers.

That was a trade they were glad to take, especially after Acuna grounded out to second, though Miguel Rojas added some drama by slipping around before completing the play. All that remarkably only took 18 pitches for Yamamoto.

Yamamoto then came back and got a perfect 6th frame on just 12 pitches, helped out by a lead-off strikeout of Olson on a generous full-count call that Olson wanted to challenge but didn’t likely due to Acuna burning one earlier. Due to the manageable pitch count, he was tasked with the 7th as well, delivering an 11-pitch frame with two strikeouts.

Yet another elite showing when the team needed him most: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 10 K, 98 Pitches.

Unreal, man.

Braves pen prevents insurance, Dodgers pen shuts the door

As mentioned, the Braves brought in the pen for the 6th, starting with Dylan Dodd. He gave up a lead-off single to Pages, his second of the night, but followed with a pair of strikeouts and a flyout for a 17-pitch scoreless frame. The 7th belonged to Dylan Lee, who took just nine pitches to get through it.

Brent Suter got the 8th, starting with a seven-pitch full-count walk from Shohei. Next up was Miguel Rojas, who hurt himself fouling off a 1-0 sinker, grabbing at his back. He exited for Tommy Edman, who popped out on the first pitch afterward and stayed in at second base. Suter then got the next two batters, taking 21 pitches, but posting a zero.

Closing the book on the Dodgers was Raisel Iglesias in the 9th, who got two outs but then walked Freddie to bring up the pinch-hitter Max Muncy in for Teoscar (Muncy went to third and Enrique went to left). Iglesias got him to strikeout and a 22-pitch scoreless frame.

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For the Dodgers, their pen had to protect a two-run lead for two innings. Dave Roberts started with Tanner Scott in the 8th, who started with a strikeout and groundout before walking Acuna, but he rebounded with a strikeout of Olson to put the Dodgers on the verge. A 19-pitch scoreless frame.

Closing things out? Well, Edwin Diaz in the 9th, and things started with an Ozzie Albies double off the wall in right. Diaz then got a groundout to move Albies to third, a flyout that kept him at third, and another groundout (from pinch-hitter Mike Yastrzemski) to Mookie that he threw low but Freddie picked again.

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The Dodgers now have the Braves on the brink of elimination, taking a 2-1 lead in the NLDS. 9 more wins to go and one of them needs to come in the next two games.

Same two teams, same place, and same time of 12:00 PM HT/3:00 PM PT/6:00 PM ET on FS1. The pitching matchup for this one is also set in stone, seeing Tyler Glasnow facing Tyler Mahle.

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