Action in the 2026 MLB playoffs rolled on Sunday with the second matchups of the National League Division Series. After picking up Game 1 wins on Saturday against the Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres, both the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers were aiming to secure a dominant 2-0 advantage in their respective best-of-five matchups today.
Ever since the best-of-five NLDS format was established back in 1995, franchises securing the opening game have ultimately advanced 73% of the time, with 32% of those matchups resulting in a clean sweep. Taking the opener does not lock in a series victory, yet Milwaukee and Los Angeles currently hold the upper hand. Below are the final outcomes and schedule details for the Sunday postseason games:
- FINAL: Brewers 4, Padres 3 (box score); Milwaukee leads the matchup 2-0
- FINAL: Braves 3, Dodgers 1 (box score); Series knotted up at 1-1
To break down all of Sunday’s NLDS Game 2 developments, we have analyzed the matchups to name a winner and loser from each contest. Our definitive and indisputable assessments are presented below.
Winners: The Atlanta pitching staff
As it happens, the Braves managed just fine without Chris Sale
Because they deployed top left-handed arm Chris Sale out of the bullpen in Game 3 of the Wild Card round, combined with a rotation severely depleted by physical setbacks, Atlanta found themselves in a difficult spot entering Game 2 of the NLDS. They had to contend with the back-to-back champion Dodgers while trailing 1-0 in the matchup without a traditional starting pitcher lined up. Left-handed reliever Ray Kerr had previously excelled as an opener during the Wild Card Series, prompting the team to repeat the strategy.
This bold strategy worked out beautifully. Kerr neutralized elite left-handed leadoff hitter Shohei Ohtani in two plate appearances, collecting eight outs at the start of the contest without yielding a single run and striking out four batters. Grant Holmes took over next, intended to provide multiple innings, but Atlanta skipper Walt Weiss pulled him after securing just two outs. Consequently, the Braves had to rely on a complete bullpen day to patch things together.
And it paid off. Dylan Lee, Robert Suarez, Didier Fuentes, and Raisel Iglesias shut the door. Collectively, Atlanta’s pitchers surrendered just two runs on six hits. Fuentes stood out especially: the 21-year-old dealt with 13 batters over four frames, giving up nothing more than a lone solo blast to Max Muncy in the ninth inning. It was an amazing performance on a night when his manager had to piece together 27 outs without a traditional starting option.
Atlanta now heads back to their home field with a fully prepared Chris Sale lined up for Game 3 and a rested Tyler Mahle slated for Game 4. While matching up against Dodgers starters Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow will present a major challenge, they avoided falling into a near-insurmountable hole. Instead, they remain right in the thick of this series.
At the plate, Michael Harris II remains the catalyst for Atlanta’s offense. The Braves jumped out to an early lead with a first-inning run, but a solo blast from Freddie Freeman evened the score in the fourth. In the top of the fifth, Harris batted with two out. He battled through a multi-pitch at-bat, spoiling three offerings including a pair with two strikes, before launching a triple down the left-field line. He came home shortly after on a wild pitch to put Atlanta back in front. He later added crucial breathing room in the top of the seventh by driving home a run with a double.
Harris had wrapped up the regular season in spectacular fashion, batting .407 with a .593 slugging mark over his final 13 appearances. His early three-run blast in Game 3 of the previous round provided all the run support Atlanta needed to advance. On Sunday night, he once again carried the offensive load in Game 2 of the NLDS.
Loser: The Los Angeles offense
The defending titleholders struggled to find their rhythm at the plate
While Blake Snell’s lack of efficiency wasn’t ideal, it is hard to find fault with the Dodgers’ pitching staff after giving up only three runs. Every lineup experiences temporary dry spells, but this quiet performance was concerning for Los Angeles in a brief series. Atlanta possesses a strong bullpen, but it is not a unit that should routinely silence a lineup as powerful as the Dodgers’.
Even so, Los Angeles mustered only a pair of runs, coming courtesy of solo home runs from Muncy and Freddie Freeman. They managed just six hits on the night in a largely uninspired effort.
According to Statcast, any batted ball registered at 95 mph or faster is deemed a “hard-hit” connection. Los Angeles registered a mere six hard-hit balls throughout the game. For context, Atlanta recorded 10 and only generated three runs. Aside from the Freeman home run, the Dodgers’ bats lacked any real teeth.
The matchup now relocates to Atlanta. During a three-game road series there from August 25 to 27, Los Angeles was swept while scoring a total of only eight runs.
Winner: The Brewers’ late-game heroics
Milwaukee proved why they hold the league’s top record with another clutch finish
Borrowing the iconic catchphrase of the legendary Mel Allen: “How about that?!”
Milwaukee relied on a timely late-inning home run in Game 1 to secure an opening victory. They have now grabbed a 2-0 series advantage following a highly unlikely comeback in Game 2. While the statistics deemed their chances slim—especially with San Diego handing the ball to elite closer Mason Miller—the Brewers refused to look at the math.
According to win-probability metrics, Milwaukee faced an 11% likelihood of victory with one down in the final frame. Miller had converted 38 of 41 save opportunities during the regular season, posting a stellar 1.67 ERA, making him a frontrunner for the National League Reliever of the Year honors. For the vast majority of teams in most scenarios, those circumstances would have felt impossible to overcome.
However, this 2026 Milwaukee squad routinely disregards unfavorable odds.
They coaxed three bases on balls out of Miller, setting the stage for rising young phenom Jackson Chourio to drive a walk-off, two-run single straight back up the box. The ball was hit with tremendous force. This followed his crucial, game-tying two-run homer in the opening game of the series.
Leaving his bat at 109.5 mph, it stood as the second-hardest hit ball of the entire contest. According to Sarah Langs, Chourio is now the third-youngest player in MLB history to deliver a walk-off hit in the playoffs, trailing only two such hits by Edgar Renteria during the 1997 postseason.
He joins Mike Moustakas (2018) and Nyjer Morgan (2011) as the sole players in franchise history to record a walk-off hit in postseason play.
This late-game magic has been a constant theme. Among their league-leading 103 regular-season victories, 42 required them to come from behind, including six walk-off wins. Playing in front of their home crowd certainly helped; counting both regular and post-season games, Milwaukee has compiled a 57-26 record alongside a +168 run differential at American Family Field.
Having pulled off similar rallies so frequently, the team never panics when trailing. Their relentless approach means that once they generate momentum, the highly unlikely quickly begins to feel completely inevitable.
Loser: Mason Miller’s ninth-inning collapse
The Padres pushed their closer to record a multi-inning save, but the gamble backfired
San Diego closer Mason Miller was not called upon for a six-out save during the regular season, but managers frequently ask for extended efforts from high-leverage arms in October. The circumstances demanded it on Sunday, with San Diego trying to avoid a 2-0 hole and several bullpen arms fatigued from heavy usage in the series opener.
Miller breezed through a clean eighth inning and quickly retired the first hitter in the ninth. However, Christian Yelich then earned a walk and promptly swiped second base. Miller issued another free pass before recording the second out of the frame, but then walked pinch-hitter Gary Sanchez in the ninth spot, bringing Chourio up to bat with the bases loaded.
San Diego’s pitching strategy is sure to face heavy scrutiny. Michael King turned in five strong innings, keeping Milwaukee hitless through the first four, but was lifted after facing just one batter in the sixth. This move forced the Padres to overextend their bullpen for the second consecutive night.
To be fair, there was clear reasoning behind the decision. King had surrendered three consecutive hits with two down in the fifth and hit the leadoff batter in the sixth. The Padres possess a deep enough bullpen to cover four frames, even with Adrián Morejón ruled out. Furthermore, Miller had completed two-inning appearances twice in the regular season, though neither was a save situation; he earned extra-inning wins in both instances. Poor defense also contributed to one of Milwaukee’s runs.
With the benefit of hindsight, however, critics will wonder if lifting King amid an outstanding performance (5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K, 72 pitches) was a tactical misstep by Padres skipper Craig Stammen.
The plan failed to deliver, leaving San Diego in a must-win situation.
