bullpen

MILWAUKEE — The Dodgers spent $163 million on the back end of their bullpen the past two years. The Milwaukee Brewers did not.

So two games into the National League Championship Series, guess which team’s relief corps has been lights out and which one has been lit up? (Spoiler alert: it’s not the team with all the money.)

Milwaukee sent a parade of four relievers to the mound for a second straight game Monday, and for a second straight game they didn’t give up a run, retiring the last 15 Dodgers in order in a 7-4 win that gives Milwaukee a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series, which moves to Dodger Stadium for Game 3 on Wednesday.

The Brewers’ bullpen has pitched 9 2/3 innings in the series, yielding just two hits — both off Abner Uribe — and three walks. That’s it. Both wins have gone to relievers, DL Hall in the opener and JoJo Romero in Game 2.

Dodger relievers, meanwhile, have pitched 9 1/3 innings in the two games, giving up four runs on nine hits. Reliever Brock Stewart took the loss Monday.

In a series that’s rapidly shaping up as a battle of the bullpens, the Dodgers clearly aren’t getting what they paid for.

“I don’t have an answer,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shrugged when asked why the Dodgers relievers have struggled while the Brewers have shined. “I know that they’ve got good arms; so do we. I think they’re just finding ways to win pitches better than we are.”

Slugger Max Muncy has a theory on the same question.

“They’re really good,” he said.

The Brewers’ 48 bullpen wins was the most in baseball during the regular season and its 3.40 ERA was best in the National League. And it has been even better in the postseason, giving up just one earned run in 28 2/3 innings against the Dodgers and San Diego Padres. In the divisional era (since 1969), only the 1991 Minnesota Twins have a lower bullpen ERA through six playoff games and with a reliever earning the victory in all five of Milwaukee’s postseason wins, the Brewers have done something only the 2014 Kansas City Royals had done previously.

“There’s a reason they’re where they’re at right now and the bullpen’s a big piece of that,” Muncy said. “If there is a positive, you can say that a lot of our guys are starting to get looks at their back-end guys. But when they’re as good as they are, I don’t know how much that helps.

“They’re all throwing 100 [mph] plus and they all have really nasty stuff.”

Especially Aaron Ashby, who has pitched in both games, holding the Dodgers to a walk in 3 2/3 innings, striking out three. He’s the Brewers’ best-paid reliever, earning $5.5 million this season.

The Dodgers have three relievers making at least twice that — and one of them, Blake Treinen, didn’t even make the postseason roster. One of the others, Tanner Scott, gave up twice as many runs in his first postseason appearance as the Brewers’ bullpen has given up this month.

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Abner Uribe celebrates after completing the seventh inning of Game 2 of the NLCS.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

“They attack the hitters,” Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández said of Milwaukee’s relievers. “They throw strikes. They got good stuff. They throw hard. We’ve just got to do a better job.”

Hernández then echoed Muncy in pointing out the Dodgers have now seen six of Milwaukee’s nine relievers, with Ashby and Uribe throwing in both games. And while the Dodgers haven’t done anything against them yet, that familiarity could help going forward.

“We know what we’re going to get,” Hernández said.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy conceded the point — sort of.

“Familiarity, as the numbers tell us, does provide an edge,” he said. “So what we try to do is make sure they don’t face the same guys the next time they pitch if they’re one-inning guys.

“Can’t always do that.”

Sometimes you can, though. Uribe, who has appeared in all six Brewers games this postseason, has already faced eight Dodger hitters in the series, but only one of them, Andy Pages, twice. And when he does face someone a second time, Murphy said with a smile, who’s to say he’ll him pitch the same way?

“Uribe might have something up his sleeve based on how those other times went,” he said. “Like, well, I never gave him this.’”

That would count as a surprise. However the dominant performance of the Brewers’ bargain-basement bullpen would not. Because even in baseball, the Dodgers are finding out, there are some things money can’t buy.

MILWAUKEE — The Dodgers added left-handed reliever Justin Wrobleski to the National League Championship Series roster on Sunday, bolstering their bullpen with a pitcher who can cover multiple innings, as they take on the Milwaukee Brewers, the best team in the regular season.

In the Dodgers’ first best-of-seven series of the postseason, they will carry 13 pitchers and 13 position players — one more pitcher and one fewer position player than the previous round.

To even the balance, they left pinch-runner/defensive replacement Hyeseong Kim off the NLCS roster. Kim appeared in just one game in the NLDS, on defense in the ninth inning of Game 4.

Wrobleski was an All-Star for his first-half performance (2.69 ERA). But an up and down second half included a short stint in the injured list, as the team kept an eye on his workload, and a move to the bullpen. He finished the season strong, allowing just one run in his last eight appearances (8 ⅔ innings).

“Length, having a guy that can go two or three, is something where you essentially protect downside on the pitching,” manager Dave Roberts said Saturday when asked what traits the Dodgers would prioritize when considering which pitcher to add. “As far as handedness, they’re pretty balanced, so that really doesn’t come into play. For us, it’s more of who can take down a couple innings.”

Here’s the Dodgers’ full NLCS roster:

Infielders (6)

1B Freddie Freeman

3B Max Muncy

SS Mookie Betts

IF Miguel Rojas

UTL Kiké Hernández

UTL Tommy Edman

Outfielders (3)

LF Teoscar Hernández

CF Andy Pages

RF Kyle Tucker

Designated hitters (2)

DH Shohei Ohtani

PH Josue De Paula

Catchers (2)

C Will Smith

C Hunter Feduccia

Starting pitchers (4)

LHP Tarik Skubal

LHP Blake Snell

RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto

RHP Tyler Glasnow

Relief pitchers (9)

RHP Roki Sasaki

RHP Edwin Díaz

RHP Edgardo Henriquez

RHP Evan Phillips

RHP Brock Stewart

LHP Tanner Scott

LHP Alex Vesia

LHP Kris Bubic

LHP Justin Wrobleski

Dodgers bullpen is no longer a weakness

From Mirjam Swanson: And you thought the bullpen was going to be the weakest branch.

In the four aces, you trusted. The Dodgers’ stellar starting rotation of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow? A quartet who can strong-arm anyone.

And you probably figured Freddie Freeman would get it going. You had faith in playoff risers Max Muncy, Kiké Hernández and Teoscar Hernández — and in the Dodgers’ playoff-proven offense overall.

You were not, however, so bullish on the bullpen.

That was the proverbial, annual question mark entering the best-of-five National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, whom the Dodgers vanquished with a 4-1 victory Wednesday at Truist Park to set up an NL Championship Series rematch with the Milwaukee Brewers.

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Dodgers: Reasons to believe, reasons to worry

From Bill Shaikin: As Dave Roberts delivered his victory address, dressed in a gray cap and a gray T-shirt that commemorate a triumph the Dodgers consider merely a speed bump on the road to the main event, the manager was not shy.

“There is no more talented team than the Los Angeles Dodgers,” Roberts told his players amid clubhouse floods of champagne and beer. “This is the best organization in sports, top to bottom. We’re smarter. We’re better. And we’re tougher.”

The Dodgers had eliminated the Atlanta Braves in the National League Division Series. For the three-peat, that’s one postseason party down and two to go.

“This one is going to be special,” infielder Miguel Rojas said. “We have the motivation of winning three times in a row. That’s all we can think about right now. It’s never going to be easy in baseball. You have to go through tough things. But this team showed it before, and it showed it in this series.”

Nothing is guaranteed in October, not even the Dodgers in the World Series. For the Dodgers, here are four positive signs and four warning signs:

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Doncic, Reaves click in Lakers preseason win

From Broderick Turner: The bond between Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves is as real as it gets.

And though it was just a preseason game Thursday night, Doncic and Reaves showed why they form one of the most dynamic offensive backcourts in the NBA.

The Lakers duo linked up on the very first play against the Sacramento Kings, with Reaves passing to Doncic as he cut to the basket before scoring while being fouled.

Both played 25 minutes, with Doncic finishing with 23 points on six-for-16 shooting during the Lakers’ 114-110 win over the Kings at Crypto.com Arena. Reaves had eight points on two-for-seven shooting, eight assists and five

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MLB postseason schedule

All times Pacific

Division series

American League

No. 2 Cleveland vs. No. 6 Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox 3, at Cleveland 0 (box score)
Chicago White Sox 4, at Cleveland 3 (box score)
Cleveland 9, at Chicago 3 (box score)
Cleveland 9, at Chicago 5 (box score)
Saturday at Cleveland, 5 p.m., TBS/truTV/UniMas/HBO Max

NLCS

No. 1 Milwaukee vs. No. 2 Dodgers
Sunday at Milwaukee, 5 p.m., FOX/FS1/FOX Deportes/FOX One
Monday at Milwaukee, 2 p.m., FOX/FS1/FOX Deportes/FOX One
Wednesday at Dodgers, 5 p.m., FOX/FS1/FOX Deportes/FOX One
Thursday at Dodgers, 6 p.m., FOX/FS1/FOX Deportes/FOX One
*Friday, Oct. 16 at Dodgers, 6 p.m., FOX/FS1/FOX Deportes/FOX One
*Sunday, Oct. 18 at Milwaukee, 5 p.m., FOX/FS1/FOX Deportes/FOX One
*Monday, Oct. 19 at Milwaukee, 5 p.m., FOX/FS1/FOX Deportes/FOX One

ALCS

No. 1 Tampa Bay vs. Cleveland/Chicago winner
Monday, at Tampa Bay, 5 p.m., TBS/truTV/UniMas/HBO Max
Tuesday at Tampa Bay, 5 p.m., TBS/truTV/UniMas/HBO Max
Thursday at Chi/Cle, 3 p.m., TBS/truTV/UniMas/HBO Max
Friday, Oct. 16 at Chi/Cle, 3 p.m., TBS/truTV/UniMas/HBO Max
*Sat., Oct. 17 at Chi/Cle, 5 p.m., TBS/truTV/UniMas/HBO Max
*Monday, Oct. 19 at Tampa Bay, 2 p.m., TBS/truTV/UniMas/HBO Max
*Tuesday, Oct. 20 at Tampa Bay, 5 p.m., TBS/truTV/UniMas/HBO Max

* if necessary

World Series starts Friday, Oct. 23

Secret to Matthew Stafford’s success

From Sam Farmer: Both NFL most valuable players. Both bound for Canton. Both surgically precise with their passes.

Matthew Stafford and Josh Allen are two of the best liars in football.

Peyton Manning sat in the studio and cued the video. Stafford looked off a Philadelphia safety last Sunday to hold him in place. He froze a cornerback with a glance. Then he threw an out-and-up to Puka Nacua, absorbing a big hit as he released the ball.

“That’s a lot of looking off,” Manning said.

Hall of Fame linebacker Luke Kuechly, watching from his own home studio, agreed.

“The quarterback will lie to you,” Kuechly said. “He’s going to look you off. He’s going to pump you. But the one thing that never lies to you is the route.”

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This day in sports history

1943 — Bob Hoernschemeyer throws six touchdown passes, an NCAA record for a freshman, to lead Indiana past Nebraska 54-13.

1965 — The United States wins the Ryder Cup 19½-12½ at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. Arnold Palmer clinches the title, beating Peter Butler 2 up. It’s the 13th victory for the Americans in this event, which began in 1927. Britain, a three-time winner, last won in 1957.

1974 — The Washington Capitals lose their first NHL game, 6-3 to the Rangers at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

1982 — Al Del Greco kicks six field goals for all of Auburn’s points in an 18-3 triumph over Kentucky.

1983 — Buffalo’s Joe Ferguson passes for 419 yards and five touchdowns in an 38-35 overtime win against Miami. Uwe Von Schamann of the Dolphins misses two field goals in the overtime and Joe Danelo ends the game with a 36-yard field goal.

1991 — The San Jose Sharks gain their first NHL victory, defeating the Calgary Flames 4-3.

1993 — Minnesota’s Scott Eckers passes for 402 yards and a school-record six touchdowns in his first college start, sending the Gophers past Purdue 59-56.

1993 — Carey Bender rushes 33 times for 417 yards, setting an NCAA all-division single-game rushing record, in Coe’s 69-7 Division III victory over Grinnell.

2004 — Texas Tech beats Nebraska 70-10, the worst lost in the Cornhuskers’ storied 114-year history.

2004 — Texas loses to Oklahoma 12-0, getting shut out for the first time in 282 games and ending the longest streak in the country.

2010 — Mike Brinkley passes for six touchdowns and Armond Smith runs for five scores to lead Union (Ky.) to an 84-55 victory over Bethel (Tenn.) in an NAIA game.

2010 — Derek Stepan becomes the fourth player to score three times in his NHL debut to lead the New York Rangers to a season-opening 6-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres.

2011 — Sebastian Janikowski kicks four field goals, including three from at least 50 yards (54, 55, 50), in Oakland’s 25-20 win over Houston. Houston’s Matt Schaub throws for 416 yards and two touchdowns.

2011 — The NHL returns to Winnipeg, but Carey Price stops 30 shots and the Montreal Canadiens dampen a city celebration with a 5-1 victory over the Jets.

2015 — Sepp Blatter, hoping to return to power as FIFA president, is banned for 90 days, essentially ending his 17-year reign as the leader of soccer’s governing body. UEFA President Michel Platini also gets a 90-day ban following an investigation of financial misconduct at FIFA in a Swiss criminal case.

2016 — Tom Brady returns from his four-game “Deflategate” suspension, passing for 406 yards and three touchdowns to Martellus Bennett in the New England Patriots’ 33-13 victory over the Cleveland Browns.

2022 — Dutch Red Bull driver Max Verstappen secures his second consecutive World F1 Drivers C’ship after finishing in front of Sergio Pérez and Charles Leclerc in the Japanese GP at Suzuka.

Compiled by the Associated Press

This day in baseball history

1928 — Baseball World Series: NY Yankees beat St. Louis Cardinals, 7-3 at Sportsman’s Park to become first to sweep consecutive World Series; Babe Ruth hits smashes three HRs for Yanks.

1934 — Baseball World Series: St Louis Cardinals rout Detroit Tigers, 11-0 at Navin Field to clinch 4 games to 3 series victory and third championship.

1966 — Baseball World Series: Baltimore Orioles claim first championship in franchise history; edge Dodgers, 1-0 at Memorial Stadium for 4-0 sweep; MVP: Orioles outfielder Frank Robinson.

1988 — Dennis Eckersley saves all four games in Oakland’s ALCS victory over Boston.

2005 — Chris Burke hits a home run in the bottom of the 18th inning and Roger Clemens pitches three scoreless innings of relief in Houston’s 7-6, series-ending victory over Atlanta in the NLDS. The longest postseason game in history takes 5 hours, 50 minutes.

Compiled by the Associated Press

Until next time…

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

ATLANTA — Without Andy Pages, the Dodgers wouldn’t have popped champagne in the Truist Park visiting clubhouse Wednesday night.

His October track record suggested he was an unlikely hero. He entered Wednesday with a .123 playoff batting average. He was benched in Game 5 of the World Series last year. He’d even started this postseason hitless in the first two games of the National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, and was given the red light on ABS challenges.

He didn’t carry any of that up to the plate with him in the seventh inning, with the score tied, the bases loaded and hard-throwing Braves reliever Robert Suarez entering the game to face him.

“I like being in those at-bats,” Pages said in Spanish after the Dodgers’ 4-1 win in Game 4 of the NLDS. “There are times the result comes, sometimes not, but I prepare to be in those spots. And today I was able to get the result.”

He was patient, working a full count as he fouled off and then foul-tipped a pair of fastballs in the zone.

The next one, he sent through the middle of the infield for a two-run single to finally give the Dodgers the lead in the deciding moment of the series.

The Dodgers are headed to the NL Championship Series for the ninth time in 14 seasons. They will play the Milwaukee Brewers, who finished off the San Diego Padres in four games, starting Sunday. And they came one step closer to their goal of winning a third straight World Series.

Pages has contributed to the last two titles with his regular-season play and his glove. The game-saving catch he made in Game 7 of the World Series last year, trampling Kiké Hernández in the process, has been immortalized in bobblehead form. But now, he has a big moment with his bat.

“There’s never been a doubt about him, his talent,” Hernández said. “You can’t carry previous postseasons into this postseason. Everything is a new chapter. Every time you take the field in October, you get an opportunity to rewrite your story. So the fact that he struggled in the previous couple postseasons doesn’t mean that was going to happen again this year.

“I mean, during the regular season, you have two bad games and nobody freaks out about it, but because people are adding up previous postseasons, they’re going to freak out. But nobody doubted him. That’s why he stayed in the lineup. And I’m really happy that he was the one that won us a series.”

The signs of a potential breakout were there. When Pages came back from a fractured left hand for the final week of the season, he didn’t miss a beat.

Then he went 0 for 7 in the first two games of the NLDS, and manager Dave Roberts said he wanted to see him “slow down a little bit.”

“I’m going to continue to give Andy leash,” Roberts said. “I believe in him. I feel that for us to win the World Series this year, we’re gonna need him to be an active part of our team.”

Pages recorded two hits in Game 3 and logged another single in his first at-bat Wednesday.

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“Everybody really forgets how young Andy Pages is, you know?” veteran infielder Miguel Rojas said of the 25-year-old. “He’s just starting his career. He’s still like a rookie in this clubhouse for us, because he’s one of the youngest. But at the same time, we see his potential, we see what he can do on the field and we feel so proud of him because … whenever he has the opportunity to contribute to this team, he does it in different ways. Defensively, offensively and on the bases.”

On Wednesday, Pages already had showed off his range in center field when he tracked down a fly ball off Matt Olson’s bat in the left-field gap. But the Dodgers desperately needed someone to contribute with runners in scoring position.

The game had been tied at one run apiece since the second inning.

The lone run Dodgers starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow gave up was made possible by Braves leadoff hitter Michael Harris II’s speed. He got on top of Glasnow’s first pitch, a fastball up and out of the strike zone, to shoot a single through the right side.

Harris then stole second and advanced on a groundout. Then, in an 0-and-2 count to Ozzie Albies, Glasnow spiked a curveball in front of the plate. Catcher Will Smith managed to block the ball, despite the high bounce, but it rolled back toward the mound, giving Harris time to dash home.

Glasnow limited the Braves to one hit in 4-2/3 innings. But five walks prevented him from pitching deeper into the game.

The Dodgers couldn’t get anything going against Braves starter Tyler Mahle, either.

They hadn’t faced Mahle since April, when he was with the San Francisco Giants and racking up a 5.13 ERA. But he’d been lights out since the Braves acquired him, authoring a 1.99 ERA. In his postseason debut, he limited the Philadelphia Phillies to one run in seven innings.

The Dodgers saw that new and improved version of him on Wednesday.

The one run the Dodgers scored against him was something of a fluke.

In the second inning, Shohei Ohtani, who moved up to the cleanup spot after hitting fifth the day before, drew a five-pitch walk without taking a swing. He then stole second base, drawing an errant throw that allowed him to advance to third. So, he was in position to score the tying run when Braves shortstop Mauricio Dubón, who robbed Freddie Freeman of a home run as the left fielder the day before, dropped a popup in shallow left.

The Dodgers recorded only three hits against Mahle in 6⅓ innings. So, the game would come down to the bullpens.

In the seventh, the Dodgers loaded the bases with a single from Teoscar Hernández, a walk from pinch-hitting rookie Josue De Paula, and a five-pitch walk from Kyle Tucker.

The Dodgers had gone 0 for 15 with runners in scoring position for the series when Pages stepped to the plate.

“It’s been incredible, especially the way he’s working, just to be ready for these big moments,” Teoscar Hernández said. “I think he was a little bit off his timing at the beginning of the series. Now that he understands he doesn’t have to do too much to help this team win games, I think everything is coming back to the way it was before he got hurt.

“He’s one of the best on the team. We get to this point because of him, the regular season he had. This is not a surprise for me that he’s having this kind of moment in the playoffs.”

Pages didn’t seem surprised, either.

“What happened last year, happened,” he said. “It’s in the past now. All I can do now is be in the moment. And being in the moment today, I was able to get the result.”

ATLANTA — And you thought the bullpen was going to be the weakest branch.

In the four aces, you trusted. The Dodgers’ stellar starting rotation of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow? A quartet who can strong-arm anyone.

And you probably figured Freddie Freeman would get it going. You had faith in playoff risers Max Muncy, Kiké Hernández and Teoscar Hernández — and in the Dodgers’ playoff-proven offense overall.

You were not, however, so bullish on the bullpen.

That was the proverbial, annual question mark entering the best-of-five National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, whom the Dodgers vanquished with a 4-1 victory Wednesday at Truist Park to set up an NL Championship Series rematch with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Edwin Díaz, the Dodgers’ purported closer, had a disastrous, injury-marred first season with the team — or he was having one.

That left Tanner Scott — last season’s purported closer — handling the bulk of the ninth-inning duties this season, and he finished with a career-high 25 saves. But you were going to have to see him sustain that in the postseason to believe in Scott, whose first season with the Dodgers also was so disastrous that he wasn’t even included on the playoff roster.

The Dodgers are paying Díaz $69 million and Scott $72 million. A steep price and a sign of how badly the team wants to avoid having to turn to starting pitchers to finish off important postseason games, as they have in the past with Julio Urías, Walker Buehler and, last season, Yamamoto.

But until now, the Dodgers haven’t had much but frustration to show for their investment in Scott or Díaz — who were two names among four, including Roki Sasaki and Evan Phillips, that manager Dave Roberts suggested could close games in the playoffs.

It was a tangled trust tree that needed lots of water.

Or how about champagne? Maybe ice-cold beer?

Because after Alex Vesia, Edgardo Henriquez, Scott and Díaz combined to get the final 13 outs of Game 4 without giving up a run, they helped lead the charge in the clubhouse afterward, dousing one another to celebrate.

In the series, the Braves went one for 23 (.043) with runners in scoring position. That, according to OptaStats, is the second-lowest such batting average in a postseason series in history — and it doesn’t happen without a bullpen being locked in; the Braves went 0 for 13 with runners in scoring position against the Dodgers’ relief pitchers.

In the deciding Game 4, Vesia took the baton from Glasnow with two outs and two runners on in the fifth, got the inning’s final out on one pitch and came back out in the sixth. He gave up a double but got Drake Baldwin to line out before handing the ball to the hard-throwing Henriquez, who hit 100 mph or higher on 11 of his 15 pitches, retired five of six batters and earned his first postseason win.

Then Scott had the inning of his Dodgers career in the eighth — sitting down the Braves’ 3-4-5 hitters with a nasty array of sliders and fastballs. He punctuated his performance with a fastball on the corner that ended the inning and wound up costing Atlanta its final ABS challenge.

And, finally, in closing, Díaz.

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He earned his second consecutive save with an efficient, eight-pitch, 1-2-3 inning. He isn’t the closer, not officially. But, darn, is he important: “For us to win the World Series,” Roberts said, “he’s got to be a relevant part of this equation … I’ve got to trust him.”

The way Díaz is dealing, why wouldn’t he? Díaz has given up just one hit in three postseason innings. And he’s feeling good.

“The last two nights it’s been amazing,” Díaz said. “That’s why I came here, to win games and close games like this one. So I’m really happy.”

Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations, raved about Díaz’s resilience, referencing the roller coaster of a season that included an 8.68 earned-run average, neck and elbow injuries, a stint on the injured list and in triple A.

“He would say, ‘Hey, I’m ready to come back,’” Friedman said. “And it was like, ‘Hey, we need to see more, we need to see this really lock in.’ And at every turn, he said, ‘Whatever you guys need … anytime you want me to pitch, I’ll be ready.’

“It was never a question of the heartbeat and his ability to handle these moments. It was about just getting him right mechanically and getting back to the stuff that we’ve all seen over the years.”

Vesia is similarly impressed with his friend Scott’s resurgence.

“Going back to last year with ups and downs and adversity and all that stuff, we definitely leaned on each other,” said Vesia, who missed the World Series after the October death of his newborn daughter, Sterling Sol.

“And, you know, for this year to watch [Scott] really take off and have a great year, it’s been awesome, you know? It’s really awesome. With the closing role being undefined and all that stuff, he stepped up. Every year, there’s always guys that step up.

“Now, we got eight more.”

Eight more wins to three-peat, and no weak links anywhere.

Teoscar Hernández? Sure. Max Muncy? Certainly. Tarik Skubal? Absolutely.

But Kyle Tucker? Are you kidding me?

Of all the heroes in the Dodgers’ 5-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves in their National League Division Series opener Saturday at Dodger Stadium, none was more stunning than the shrugging, somnolent, underachieving right fielder whom Dodger fans have treated like an overpaid outcast.

Just listen to them now.

Booo…Yayyyyy!

Locked in a one-run game on a scorching 100-degree afternoon, Tucker drove an AJ Smith-Shawver fastball 408 feet over the right-field fence in the sixth inning for a two-run homer that essentially ended the Braves’ afternoon and set up the Dodgers for what appears to be a certain series sweep.

Yes, the Dodgers only lead one game to none in this best-of-five deal, but the Braves are clearly out of breath and out of pitching after enduring last week’s wild-card series against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Braves dug deep in their bullpen for all eight innings Saturday. They may have to dig even deeper in Game 2 on Sunday or desperately start ace Chris Sale on short rest.

Their offense looks wasted, their bullpen is taxed, and they spent most of Saturday in one sweaty mess.

Of course, the Dodger bullpen almost handed the game back to them when Ozzie Albies hit a two-run homer off Tanner Scott in the ninth to close what seemed to be an insurmountable gap. But Scott was mercifully lifted for Evan Phillips, who recorded the final out of the game to save the Dodgers from disgrace.

And to etch Tucker into the rare role of hero.

“Obviously for us it’s about winning a championship,” said manager Dave Roberts when asked about Tucker afterward. “Our fans, they really remember what you do in the postseason. So this is certainly a way to change the story for a season in 2026.”

Indeed, except for the back end of the bullpen, Dodgers old and new rose to the championship occasion.

Skubal in his first Dodger postseason start after being traded here from Detroit on Aug. 2? Six innings of brilliance, 15 batters in a row retired at one point, only one three-ball count in the first five innings, two allowed hits, seven strikeouts, two walks and only nicked by a Sean Murphy homer.

Dodgers pitcher Tarik Skubal delivers during the first inning Saturday against the Braves.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

Teoscar Hernández, almost benched during a rocky regular season? Same old Teo, the guy who leads the Dodgers with 27 RBIs over the last three postseasons, this time opening the scoring with a two-run homer in the fourth.

Max Muncy, the forgotten stalwart who always seems to show up huge in October? Same old Max, blasting a ball over the right-field fence in the sixth to give the Dodgers a 5-1 lead.

But Kyle Tucker? This was not the same old Tucker. Nobody saw this coming. Certainly, he finished the regular season strong with a .969 OPS in September with six homers and 13 RBIs, but he was awful for most of the previous five months after joining the team this winter with baseball’s highest annual salary of $60 million.

Tucker batted .196 at home. He seemingly jogged after fly balls, wildly swung and missed at fastballs, and who would have thought he would take control with one out in the sixth and the Dodgers leading 2-1?

There was one out. This was a big moment. Skubal was out of the game and the Dodgers had lost all their early momentum when Hernández popped a single to center, bringing up Tucker.

On Smith-Shawver’s second pitch, he connected, and after Tucker trotted across home plate, the most amazing thing happened.

He smiled.

“I think that we all know — it’s been well talked about — the struggles he had this year,” said Roberts. “I give him a lot of credit for grinding through it, not running from it, always posting and kind of getting to the other side of it.”

It was an otherwise ordinary Dodger playoff win that began with a rare bit of Dodger second-guessing.

Many questioned the Dodgers choosing to pitch Skubal in Saturday’s opener while slotting Blake Snell into Sunday’s spot and leaving last season’s playoff hero Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the bench until Game 3.

The reasoning was that Skubal could get two starts in this series on full rest while Yamamoto, who requires an extra day’s rest, was only getting one start in the series regardless. Furthermore, by holding him back in this series, the Dodgers ensured that Yamamoto would get two starts in the National League Championship Series.

Still, you have to wonder, how do you take a guy with a 7-0 postseason record with a 2.25 ERA and put him third in the rotation?

Turns out, the Dodgers knew what they were doing, and before the game, even Andrew Friedman acknowledged this was their best pitching staff of this era.

“I feel like this is the best and deepest pitching staff we’ve ever had going into October,” said the Dodgers president of baseball operations. “I think we had some tough conversations in leaving some guys off the roster. That would have never happened before.”

There were also pregame question marks surrounding the health of Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman.

Those questions remain, as the two future Hall of Famers went two-for-seven with two singles and not much power.

Ohtani, fighting arm and leg injuries, entered the game batting .157 since Aug. 18 with zero home runs during that time.

“As of now, it’s something I’m just going to have to manage,” he said through interpreter Will Ireton.

Ohtani and Freeman are going to have to manage better than this for the Dodgers to three-peat.

Maybe they should take some advice from the Dodgers’ latest candidate to be christened Mr. October.

Kyle Tucker? Yeah, him.

SEATTLE — Taylor Ward put Seattle ahead with a pinch-hit two-run single in the seventh inning, J.P Crawford followed with a two-run homer and the Mariners beat the Angels 8-4 on Saturday night.

Mariners left-hander Kade Anderson threw 3⅓ scoreless innings but left in the fourth after taking a 104-mph line drive to the left arm hit by Christian Moore. Michael Rucker came on in relief. The Mariners (75-86) said Anderson had a left forearm bruise.

Ward, who has struggled since joining the Mariners from Baltimore at the trade deadline, drove in Cole Young and Michael Arroyo with his hit off Angels lefty Mitch Farris (1-4).

Crawford hit Farris’ next pitch into the right field stands.

The Angels (62-99) tied the game with four runs in the sixth. Bryce Teodosio drove in a two-run single off reliever Jose Ferrer, Wade Meckler scored from third on a sacrifice bunt from Tyler Heineman and Jose Siri tied it on a groundout to third base that scored Teodosio.

In the ninth inning, Josh Naylor reached on a walk and stole second base, becoming the first first baseman since George Sisler in 1920-1922 to have consecutive 30-steal seasons.

Gabe Speier pitched a scoreless ninth inning for the Mariners. Carlos Vargas (3-0) got the win.

Up next: Angels left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (1-6, 4.88 ERA) will face Mariners right-hander Logan Gilbert (12-11, 3.81 ERA) in Sunday’s season finale.

SAN FRANCISCO — Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen is likely out for the postseason, after injuring his right shoulder warming up in the bullpen Saturday.

“I don’t know if it was a complete blowout, but really unfortunate,” manager Dave Roberts said after the Dodgers’ 4-3 win against the San Francisco Giants.

The Dodgers plan to put Treinen on the injured list Sunday, Roberts said. And he’ll undergo imaging to diagnose the injury.

“It just popped up,” Roberts said.

Treinen, 38, is the longest-tenured Dodgers pitcher on the roster. He spent over two months on the IL earlier this season with inflammation in his right elbow. But in 36 appearances this season, he posted a 3.64 ERA.

Treinen has a history of shoulder injuries and underwent right shoulder labrum and rotator cuff repair surgery after the 2022 season.