Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Diego Padres

Los Angeles won the series, 3–0.

Atlanta Braves vs. Miami Marlins

Atlanta won the series, 3–0.

Game 1

Mike Clevinger returned to the mound for the Padres but was pulled after one inning after a noticeable drop in velocity. The game remained scoreless until the fourth inning, when the Padres scored on a two-out hit from Austin Nola. San Diego enjoyed their lead briefly – until the Dodgers scored on an error in the fifth. Then a game that had been well-pitched to that point boiled over in the sixth, when the Dodgers put up four runs to win by a 5–1 score. Just like Game 3 of their wild card win over the Cardinals, the Padres used nine pitchers and walked ten batters, along the way.

Game 2

Before the game, the Padres removed injured starter Mike Clevinger from the roster and replaced him with Dan Altavilla.^[8] The Padres took an early lead in the second inning when Wil Myers hit a double to center field that scored Tommy Pham. The Dodgers took the lead for good in the third inning on a two-run double by Corey Seager and a single by Max Muncy, and padded their lead the next inning on a Cody Bellinger home run. The Padres began the sixth inning with back-to-back home runs by Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer that reduced their deficit to one, but Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw retired the next three batters to end the inning. The Padres threatened again in the seventh inning, when Bellinger made a spectacular catch over the center-field wall that would otherwise have been a go-ahead two-run home run by Fernando Tatís Jr. The Dodgers padded their lead in the bottom half of the seventh on a Justin Turner sacrifice fly and a single by Muncy. The Padres threatened in the top of the ninth inning, scoring two runs on hits by Mitch Moreland and Trent Grisham off Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen and once again reducing their deficit to a single run. Joe Kelly replaced Jansen with Grisham on first base and two outs, and walked Tatís and Machado to load the bases before getting Hosmer to ground out to end the game.

Game 3

The Dodgers took an early lead in the second inning that was quickly erased when the Padres scored two runs in the bottom half of the inning. The Padres' lead was also short-lived, as the Dodgers scored five runs in the third inning en route to a blowout win. Though he did not start the game, erstwhile Dodgers starter Julio Urías pitched five innings in relief, allowing one run on one hit, striking out six Padres, and getting credited as the winning pitcher. The Padres, meanwhile, used 11 pitchers – a postseason record for a nine-inning game.^[9] The Dodgers advanced to their fourth NLCS in five seasons.

The Dodgers' Will Smith had five hits in the game, becoming the first catcher, the first player in Dodgers franchise history, and the ninth major league player ever to accomplish the feat in a postseason game.^[10]

The Dodgers would go on to win the World Series a few weeks later, making them the first World Series winner to sweep the Division Series since the Wild Card Game/Round was introduced in 2012.

Composite line score

2020 NLDS (3–0): Los Angeles Dodgers beat San Diego Padres

Game 1

Ronald Acuña Jr. led off the Braves’ day with an opposite field home run (facing Sandy Alcántara), setting the tone for his club. The Marlins would take the lead in the third off of a Garrett Cooper double that plated two runs and a Brian Anderson single that scored Cooper. After a pair of runs in the third to draw within one run, the Braves would break the game open in the seventh against a fatigued Alcántara, Yimi García, and James Hoyt, via a Travis d'Arnaud three-run home run. The Braves’ six-run seventh also featured a two-run shot from Dansby Swanson.

Things turned testy in the third when Acuña was hit by a 98-mph fastball. The showy All-Star outfielder held onto his bat and walked a few steps toward the mound before umpires and Braves coaches surrounded him and directed him away from Alcántara, who had started to walk toward him. After the game, Alcántara said about the incident:

If he’s ready to fight, I’m ready to fight.^[12]

Game 2

Rookie Ian Anderson turned in a scoreless start, lasting 52⁄3 innings and striking out eight. The Braves bullpen did not allow a hit after that to secure the win. Just as in Game 1, Travis d'Arnaud and Dansby Swanson both homered. Both were solo shots and the only runs in the game.

The Braves became the third team in MLB history to toss shutouts in three of their first four games to begin a postseason. The other two teams were the 1905 New York Giants and 1966 Baltimore Orioles.^[13]

Game 3

Kyle Wright pitched six scoreless innings and was backed up by two RBIs from both Travis d'Arnaud and Dansby Swanson. The Braves became the first team in MLB history to have two back-to-back shutouts in the same postseason.

This was the first NLDS victory for the Atlanta Braves since 2001 and the first postseason series loss for the Miami Marlins since the franchise came into existence in 1993.^[14]

Composite line score

2020 NLDS (3–0): Atlanta Braves beat Miami Marlins