The first pitch of Dodgers-Braves Game 1 arrived under punishing heat Saturday, with the temperature at Dodger Stadium measured at 100 degrees and the left field scoreboard showing 103. However it was listed, the result was the same: it was scorching, and it made the NLDS opener the second-hottest postseason game in Dodger Stadium history.
Only one Dodgers playoff game at home has ever been hotter. That came in Game 1 of the 2017 World Series, when the first pitch registered at 103 degrees and the Dodgers beat the Astros 3-1. Manager Dave Roberts was there for that one, and he had the same message this time: stay hydrated, keep the conditions from becoming the story, and manage the heat as best as possible.
“Yeah, it was hot. It was hot,” Roberts said Saturday.
“I think for us it’s obviously 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, catcher], but he’ll be fine.”
The players sounded like they were preparing for a long day in the sun. Braves reliever Brent Suter, who studied environmental science and public policy at Harvard, pointed to the unusual October weather and the need to keep fluids coming.
“One hundred degrees in October in LA, that’s definitely not normal,” said Braves reliever Brent Suter, who has a degree in environmental science and public policy from Harvard. “Obviously Super El Niño is a big thing to do with that.
It’s going to be a challenge for both sides to stay hydrated, especially the position players. I don’t know how they do it day in and day out with some of this heat.
“Hopefully everyone is drinking a lot of water and staying hydrated. It’s going to be a hot one,” Dodgers Game 1 starter Tarik Skubal said Friday. “I’m excited, though.”
Skubal also said he expected to be drinking plenty of water himself, and when asked whether that might lead to more trips to the restroom, he had a simple answer: “You’re just not going to the bathroom because you’re probably sweating it out,” said Skubal. “That’s probably how it is.”
Shohei Ohtani said Friday that he wouldn’t alter his own game-day routine because of the temperature. He did, though, acknowledge the strain on the pitchers.
“Nothing for me personally, but I know the pitchers are going to have a hard time,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “I’m wishing all the best for Skuby.”
Ohtani has already been part of the hottest game in Dodgers history, though he was on the other side then. On July 6, 2018, in Anaheim, the first-pitch temperature hit 108 degrees in a game the Dodgers lost 3-2 in walk-off fashion in the ninth inning. Ohtani, in his rookie season, scored the tying run after drawing a two-out walk off Kenley Jansen.
That game also produced a reminder of how teams can handle extreme heat. Before that night in Anaheim, the Dodgers skipped batting practice on the field, and Roberts explained the choice this way: “The net of being in air conditioning and resting your body gives us a better chance to win a baseball game,” per Ethan Bauer of the Los Angeles Times.
This time, the Dodgers did take batting practice before facing Atlanta, though they were basically finished by 10:30 a.m., when the temperature was still a relatively manageable 94 degrees.
Saturday’s heat fit into a broader pattern for the Dodgers. They have played 29 regular-season games in franchise history with a first-pitch temperature in the triple digits, and the most recent came on September 8, 2024 against the Cleveland Guardians. That afternoon was 103 degrees at game time, and the Dodgers won 4-0 behind Jack Flaherty working into the eighth inning and home runs from Ohtani and Max Muncy.
The only other Dodgers game this season that opened at 95 degrees or higher came on August 23 against the Pirates, another 1 p.m. home start. That one began at 97 degrees, and the Dodgers won 4-0 behind six scoreless innings from Blake Snell.
Snell is set to start Game 2 against the Braves on Sunday, with first pitch scheduled for 5 p.m. and temperatures expected to settle around 90 degrees or lower.
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