LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers have struck first in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves.
The bats were kept quiet for most of Braves opener Dylan Dodd's three innings pitched as he managed to keep pace with Tarik Skubal on the opposing mound, but the Dodgers offense wasted no time in getting after Victor Mederos once the 25-year-old righty checked into the game in the bottom of the fourth.
Freddie Freeman worked a four-pitch walk, the first of the game by either team, before Teoscar Hernández jumped on a cutter down the middle, flipped his bat high in the air and admired the ball as it sailed a towering 431 feet halfway up the left-field pavilion seats at Dodger Stadium for a two-run home run.
ALL EYES ON TEOSCAR. pic.twitter.com/JCf9KweGs8
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 3, 2026
Kyle Tucker followed Hernández up with a base hit, after which Mederos was pulled from the game after throwing just 11 pitches.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Teoscar Hernández's dramatic home run puts Dodgers up on Braves
