Three crisp scoreless innings gave way to a Dodgers power surge in the fourth at Truist Park, where Kiké Hernández and Freddie Freeman took Chris Sale deep in NLDS Game 3 and pushed Los Angeles in front, 3-0.
The result
Hernández cracked the game open with a two-run homer that traveled 406 feet to left field, ending the scoreless deadlock and giving the Dodgers their first runs of the afternoon.
Freeman followed two batters later with a solo drive into the right-center seats. The former Brave had nearly homered in the third, only to have Mauricio Dubón make the catch in left field. On his next turn, Freeman left no chance for another robbery.
The two-homer inning was just the second postseason start in which Sale has surrendered more than one home run. His other such outing came on April 1, 2023, during his time with Boston.
Los Angeles has opened this postseason with all 10 of its runs coming on home runs, the longest such run to begin a postseason in Major League history.
For Hernández, the fourth-inning shot was his first homer of the 2026 postseason and the 17th postseason home run of his career, adding another October moment to a résumé already full of them.
Freeman’s blast was his second this October and No. 18 in his playoff career. That total places him in a tie for 10th on the all-time postseason home run list with seven other players, including Dodgers teammate Max Muncy, who reached 18 in Game 2 of the NLDS.
The rotation next
NLDS Game 4 is scheduled for Wednesday at 6 p.m. ET, or 3 p.m. PT, with coverage on FS1, FOX Deportes and FOX One.
