The first two games of the 2026 National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium came with a side of brutal heat, and the numbers were eye-popping from the start. Game 1 between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves opened at 100 degrees on Saturday, making it the second-hottest postseason game in MLB history, according to Elías Sports Bureau. Game 2 didn’t cool things off much at all, with a first pitch of 95 degrees, tying for the fourth-hottest game in playoff history.
That kind of weather has become part of the strange postseason record book in Chavez Ravine. Every one of the four hottest playoff games ever has been played at Dodger Stadium, and the all-time mark still belongs to Game 1 of the 2017 World Series against the Houston Astros, when first pitch hit 103 degrees. Game 1 of this NLDS eventually climbed to 103 as well, tying it for the warmest game-time temperature ever recorded there.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts didn’t pretend the conditions were anything other than miserable.
“Yeah, it was hot. It was hot,” Roberts recalled.
“I think for us, it’s do as much as we can to stay hydrated. I think, honestly, just not let it get to us and be more mindful of the pitcher.
Outside of that, it’s the same conditions for both teams, and you’ve got to just stay hydrated and manage it.
“I’ll keep an eye on Will (Smith), but he’ll be fine. Just more so, probably the starting pitcher.”
There is precedent for this kind of heat at Dodger Stadium, too. The third-hottest postseason game on record there came in the 2014 NLDS, when Game 1 started at 96 degrees.
And while the Dodgers and Braves had to grind through the Southern California wave, neither club was exactly new to steamy October baseball. Truist Park in Atlanta is tied for the fourth-warmest game on record, with Game 2 of the 2019 NLDS starting at 95 degrees.
That same 2019 NLDS also produced the next hottest game on the list.
Tarik Skubal, who took the mound in Game 1, seemed to wear the conditions better than most. He said the temperature didn’t really hit him during the outing, and he pointed back to a Little League game in Lake Havasu, Arizona, that he remembered as reaching 127 degrees.
He still delivered six innings of strong work and helped the Dodgers get the win.
“I didn’t really think it was that hot out there until I got done and I walked back in the dugout, and I asked - I forget who was sitting - I think it was Snell,” Skubal began. “I was like, ‘Has it been this hot all game?’
He was like, ‘Yeah.’ Wow, it’s amazing what your brain can do in certain circumstances and moments.
“It’s amazing what you can control and kind of eliminate. So I actually didn’t think it was horrible when I was pitching.
I’m sure it was if you were just watching the whole game like he was. Yeah, it was a hot one.
“I felt like I had more to go, obviously. I’m going to trust Doc and what he’s feeling and what he’s watching.
I think in the sixth there were some bigger misses and some walks, and that’s probably what led to me coming out of the game. I didn’t look as crisp in the sixth inning, but I felt good going forward.”
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