Dodgers beat Braves, advance to third straight NLCS

ATLANTA — The Dodgers took care of business when it mattered most.

The Dodgers rallied from an early deficit, broke open a tense Game 4 in the seventh inning and finished off the Braves, 4-1, to win the NLDS, three games to one.

And just like that, the Dodgers are headed back to the National League Championship Series for the third consecutive year.

It was hardly a masterpiece for the first six innings. It was a long, slow night, the kind of postseason game where every pitch seemed to carry more weight than the last.

Then the seventh inning arrived.

The Braves grabbed the early lead in the bottom of the first. Michael Harris II singled to open the inning and eventually came around to score when Tyler Glasnow uncorked a wild pitch.

The Dodgers answered in the second, and, fittingly, it started with Shohei Ohtani.

Ohtani led off with a walk, stole second during Teoscar Hernández's at-bat and advanced to third when the ball got away into center field. He then scored when another Braves error allowed him to cross the plate. Just like that, the game was tied. And then the night settled into a grind.

Tyler Glasnow worked around traffic throughout his outing, allowing only one hit but issuing five walks. He finally exited with two outs in the fifth after another pair of walks put runners aboard.

Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Blake Snell (7) celebrates with catcher Will Smith, pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, pitcher Tyler Glasnow, and pitcher Tarik Skubal after defeating the Atlanta Braves in game four of the NLDS for the 2026 MLB Playoffs at Truist Park.

His final line: 4⅔ innings, one hit, five walks and one run on 78 pitches.

Alex Vesia entered to face Matt Olson, and on his very first pitch, Olson grounded out to end the threat.

The Dodgers' pitching staff had now walked 18 batters in the series. None of those 18 walks had come around to score.

Still, the Dodgers needed a breakthrough of its own. It finally came in the seventh.

The Dodgers loaded the bases with two outs after Teoscar Hernández singled, Josue De Paula drew a pinch-hit walk and Kyle Tucker worked another walk.

The Dodgers had been 0-for-15 with runners in scoring position in the series. Then Andy Pages changed everything.

Facing Robert Suarez with a 3-2 count, Pages got a 100-mph fastball and didn't miss it. He slapped the ball back up the middle, bringing home two runs and giving the Dodgers a 3-1 lead.

It was Pages' first postseason RBI since Game 2 of the 2025 NLCS. And it couldn't have come at a better time.

For a Dodgers team that had struggled all series to cash in with runners in scoring position, Pages delivered the swing that finally broke the game open. The bullpen did the rest.

The Dodgers' relievers combined for 4⅓ scoreless innings, protecting the lead and turning the final outs into a celebration waiting to happen.

Then Max Muncy added one more reminder of why October seems to bring out his best.

In the ninth, Muncy launched a solo home run, pushing the Dodgers' lead to 4-1. That marked his 19th postseason homer, which is now tied for the seventh-most in MLB history.

They had survived the slow innings. They had survived the walks. They had survived the missed opportunities. And when the game finally demanded a swing, Pages provided it.

Now, for the third straight year, the Dodgers are headed to the NLCS. They'll await the winner of the Padres-Brewers series.