Yamamoto strikes out 10, Dodgers take a 2-1 series lead

The Dodgers beat the Braves 3-1 Tuesday night and moved ahead 2-1 in their best-of-five National League Division Series. Los Angeles did not need a long rally. Kiké Hernández and Freddie Freeman turned the fourth inning into the entire scoring plan.

Hernández hit a two-run homer after Andy Pages reached base. Freeman followed with a solo homer later in the inning. Those two swings erased Atlanta's 1-0 lead and gave Yoshinobu Yamamoto more support than he needed.

Three runs, two swings

Yamamoto allowed four hits and one run across seven innings. He struck out 10, walked one and threw 62 of 98 pitches for strikes. Atlanta put the first run on the board, but Yamamoto did not allow the game to become a bullpen emergency after Los Angeles answered.

That is the performance that changes the series. The Dodgers now enter Game 4 with a chance to advance, and their relief group avoided covering half the night. Edwin Díaz recorded the final out and the save after the Braves brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth.

Yamamoto removes the scramble

The power has been decisive, but it is also the obvious pressure point. MLB's Dodgers report noted that all 10 Los Angeles postseason runs through Game 3 had scored on home runs. That can win a short series. It can also leave an offense without a second route when the ball stays in the park.

Game 3 worked because the pitching made three runs feel larger. Yamamoto gave the Dodgers seven stable innings, and the Braves never produced the sustained traffic needed to answer the two fourth-inning swings.

A lead with one clear warning

Los Angeles can close the series Wednesday at 6 p.m. Eastern in Atlanta. The Dodgers lead 2-1. The next question is not whether their home-run formula has worked. It has. The question is whether they can keep winning if the next game demands a different kind of run.