The 2026 MLB postseason continues Sunday with Game 2 of the National League. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers emerged victorious on Saturday in Game 1 over the Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres, respectively, and will take a commanding 2-0 lead in the best division series on Sunday.
Since the best-of-five Division Series happened in 1995, the team that won Game 1 won the series 73% of the time, and 32% of the time the series ended in a sweep. Winning Game 1 doesn’t guarantee a winning streak, but the Brewers and Dodgers are in the driver’s seat at the moment. Here are the final scores and schedule for Sunday’s playoff action.
- FINAL: Brewers 4, Padres 3 (box score); The Brewers lead the series 2-0
- FINAL: Braves 3, Dodgers 1 (box score); The series is tied 1-1
To wrap up all of the NLDS Game 2 action, we’re here to announce the winner and loser from each game. You can find those authorities and unarguable statements as below.
Winners: Braves bowl
Turns out Atlanta doesn’t even need Chris Sale
Thanks to using ace lefty Chris Sale in relief in Game 3 of the Wild Card Series — along with the state of their starting rotation around injury issues — the Braves were truly in a tie heading into Game 2 of the NLDS. Not only were they up against the two-time defending champion Dodgers, but they were down 1-0 in the series and didn’t have an active starting pitcher ready to go. Lefty reliever Ray Kerr pitched excellent work in the Wild Card Series, so the Braves returned to the well.
The whole project paid off with a show. Kerr got by leadoff lefty extraordinaire Shohei Ohtani twice, recording eight innings to start the game without a run. He struck four. Grant Holmes followed and was supposed to be the “length” guy, but Braves manager Walt Weiss pulled him after recording just two innings. So the Braves have Johnny Wholestaff for this thing.
I worked hard. Dylan Lee, Robert Suarez, Didier Fuentes and Raisel Iglesias led this event. In all, the Braves allowed just two runs on six hits. Fuentes in particular deserves to be highlighted: the 21-year-old struck out 13 hitters across four innings, and allowed his only ninth inning solo home run to Max Muncy. It’s incredible work while his manager looks like he’s trying to get through the game with nothing to start with.
Now the Braves are back at home with Chris Sale working well in Game 3 and a well-rested Tyler Mahle in Game 4. Things obviously won’t be easy against the Dodgers with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow, but this series is almost over. Instead, the Braves are shooting for honest men.
Offensively, Michael Harris II continues to star for the Braves. They scored their first run in the first inning, but Freddie Freeman’s solo shot tied things in the fourth. In the top of the fifth, Harris came to the plate with two outs on the board. He struck out three (two after the count was 0-2) before lining the left field for a triple. Then the wild pitch marked to give the Braves a lead. Then in the top of the seventh, he came through to give the Braves some much-needed insurance with an RBI double.
Harris finished the season on a hot streak, hitting .407 with a .593 slugging percentage in his final 13 games. His three home runs in the first inning of Game 3 of the last round were all the Braves needed, too. And now he put the offense on his back in Game 2 of the NLDS.
The loss: the Dodgers offense
Not much was going on in Game 2
Blake Snell’s ineffectiveness didn’t help matters, but it’s hard to put much of the blame on the Dodgers when they only gave up three runs. The offense runs rampant — just like any offense — so this one was worrisome on the part of the Dodgers, with such a short streak. The Braves certainly have talented arms in the bullpen, but there hasn’t been an overall lineup that would completely stifle the Dodgers on a regular basis.
And yet, the Dodgers only scored two runs, complete with single hits by Muncy and Freddie Freeman. There were six hits in all. It was quite lackluster.
According to Statcast’s velocity output, a measurement of 95+ mph qualifies as a “hard-hit” ball. The Dodgers only hit six hard balls all night. By comparison, the Braves hit 10 hard and still only scored three runs. It was a punchless Dodgers offense in this one out of Freeman’s homer.
The series has now changed to Atlanta. The Dodgers had a three game streak there since Aug. 25-27 Eight runs in three games and a catch.
Winner: Magic Brewers
The Brewers, the best team in baseball, showed why as of late
In the voice of late, great Mel Allen, “what about that?!!”
The Milwaukee Brewers used a tired home run late in Game 1 of the series to take a 1-0 series lead. They now have a 2-0 lead after an incredibly improbable victory in Game 2. The numbers say it’s improbable and the Padres had closer Mason Miller on the mound, which seems even more improbable. Don’t tell the brewers.
The win probability chart said the Brewers only had an 11% chance of winning with one out in the ninth inning. Miller recorded 38 saves in 41 chances during the regular season and had a 1.67 ERA. He is likely to lose out on NL Reliever of the Year. In the hands of so many teams in so many other sports, the odds would have felt insurmountable.
The 2026 Milwaukee Brewers defy such improbabilities and odds.
Three walks worked against Miller before breakout superstar Jackson Chourio came to the plate and delivered two RBIs, a single up the middle. it was a rocket. Remember, Chourio hit a two-run, game-tying blast in Game 1.
At 109.5 miles per hour off the bat, the second ball was the hardest hit in the game. Chourio is now the third-fewest player ever with a walk-off postseason hit with two separate hits, hitting Edgar Renteria in 1997 (via Sarah Langs).
Chourio joins 2018 Mike Moustakas and 2011 Nyjer Morgan as the only Brewers players with walk-off hits.
This Brewers magic is not new. Of their MLB-best 103 wins, 42 were of the comeback variety, including six walk-off wins in the regular season. Plus, they were at home. With the regular season and playoffs combined, the Brewers are now 57-26 with a +168 home field differential.
They’ve done this enough times that they won’t even be seen by chance. They never quit, and once they began to move in their direction, even out of sight, such as he himself felt as improbable and inevitable.
Defeat: Mason Miller in the ninth inning
Miller got a rare two-inning save and didn’t work
Padres closer Mason Miller hasn’t had a two-inning save in the regular season, but it’s a game and relievers are often asked to go a little longer when called upon. The position was called upon in Game 2, as the Padres trailed the series 1-0 and several other relievers were used heavily in Game 1.
Miller had an easy 1-2-3 in the eighth inning. He took the first nine quickly then. But then Christian Yelich walked and stole second. Another walk followed before Miller scored the second out. But then Gary Sanchez, who hit a pinch hitter in the nine-hole, walked to bring Chourio to the plate.
It will be second guessing now with the Padres pitching strategy. Michael King went five innings and went four without allowing a hit. Here after the sixth Caesar. The Padres then had to stretch their bullpen after doing the same in Game 1.
But there was an abundance of excuses to move. King allowed three straight runs with two outs in the fifth inning and then hit an errant pitch to start the sixth. The Padres bullpen is deep enough to make it four innings even without the widely panned Adrian Morejón. This season, Miller went two innings twice; just not except opportunities. He picked up the extra innings. Saxum was defensively leading the Brewers to one run as well.
In hindsight, though, it’s easy to wonder if King was drafted in a big deal (5 IP, H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K, 72 pitches) by Padres manager Craig Stammen.
Don’t work out. But the Padres’ backs are against the wall.