LOS ANGELES -- The temperature at first pitch registered at a sizzling 100° Fahrenheit as the NL Division Series opener between the Dodgers and Braves got underway on Saturday afternoon at Dodger Stadium.
But the Braves had an additional source of triple-digit heat bearing down on them: Tarik Skubal.
The Dodgers swung big at the Trade Deadline to add Skubal to their gauntlet of a postseason rotation, and the southpaw delivered in NLDS Game 1, striking out seven across six innings of one-run ball in L.A.'s 5-3 victory over Atlanta.
History favors the Dodgers as they begin their bid for the fifth three-peat in World Series history. In all best-of-five postseason series, teams taking a 1-0 lead have gone on to win the series 116 of 160 times (73%). In Division Series with the current 2-2-1 format, teams taking a 1-0 lead at home have gone on to win 42 of 56 times (75%).
Starting at home for the first time in seven career postseason appearances, Skubal came out blazing. He threw his hardest pitch of the season -- a 101.1 mph fastball to Austin Riley in the fourth inning -- and had his highest average four-seamer velocity this year at 98.1 mph.
Under the hot sun, Skubal hardly seemed to break a sweat -- figuratively -- through his first five innings. After giving up a leadoff single to Drake Baldwin, the southpaw retired 15 straight batters, striking out seven of them.
But to open the sixth inning, Skubal surrendered a leadoff homer to Sean Murphy, which made it a one-run game after Teoscar Hernández's two-run blast two innings earlier. Once the Braves got on the board, they seemed to gain some momentum.
"It was a ton of fun walking out here. The similarities between boos and 'Skub' are pretty close, but it was just fun to get out in front of the fans," Skubal said. "It's 105 [degrees] and we've got 50,000 here, so it's a ton of fun. Shout out to the fans, hopefully they're drinking water and got some sunscreen."
Skubal walked nine-hole hitter Ha-Seong Kim, and his next two batters grounded into fielder's choices, leaving him with traffic on the bases. He issued his second walk of the inning to Ozzie Albies before getting Matt Olson to fly out to escape the jam, stranding two runners.
The 28-pitch sixth inning ended up being Skubal's last, as a two-run homer from Kyle Tucker and a solo shot from Max Muncy padded the Dodgers' lead in the bottom half of the frame.
Not only did Skubal have his four-seamer running hot in his Game 1 start, but his changeup was a weapon of a secondary offering. He induced at least one swing-and-miss on all five pitch types he threw, with eight of the 13 total whiffs coming off his changeup.
The Dodgers consider their postseason rotation to have four No. 1 starters, and Skubal was the first man up. They'll send Blake Snell to the mound next in an effort to claim a 2-0 series lead before the series shifts to Atlanta.