Things didn't go the way the Atlanta Braves would have preferred in Game 1 of their NLDS matchup with the Dodgers. It was never going to be easy, with Atlanta having to utilize a second straight bullpen game. That's not a great recipe for success, no matter who the Braves are playing. The offense needed to show up to help cover the lack of pitching depth, and they did... okay. Sean Murphy and Ozzie Albies homered, but the Dodgers' offense did what they do best. They out-homered Atlanta and took the opening game 5-3.
While the bullpen not being at its best hurt, the offense didn't help itself by chasing way too many pitches outside the zone. That is already a problem area for the Braves, but it was exacerbated by horribly inconsistent umpiring.
Home plate umpire Roberto Ortiz looked like the second coming of Eric Gregg out there. He made questionable strike calls almost immediately, and thankfully ABS exists now. If it didn't, there may have been some tense arguments from both teams.
Roberto Ortiz's inconsistent calls may have contributed to Braves' hitters already problematic chase rate
Ortiz's accuracy percentage during the regular season was 92.88%, which ranked him 70th out of 91 umpires. That's... not ideal for a playoff series. He was challenged by teams 123 times in 2026, and 73 of them were overturned. Why MLB chose one of their least accurate umpires is anyone's guess.
Roberto Ortiz was one of the worst accuracy umpires in @MLB this season (70th out of 91) and gets to work the plate in a playoff game. He’s had four calls overturned in less than 2 innings already today. The @MLBUA is one of the most powerful unions in sports. 🙄🤡
— Shawn Temple (@prcsports1) October 3, 2026
During Saturday's game in LA, Ortiz had 9 calls challenged, with six being overturned and three being confirmed. Three of the overturned calls took place during Braves at-bats where a strike was incorrectly called instead of a ball.
It was an absolutely putrid display by the home plate catcher, and it was another bump in the road that the Braves couldn't afford. This possibly led a chase-happy Atlanta offense to do so even more than they usually would. If pitches outside the zone are going to be called incorrectly, hitters will be much more prone to chase.
Tarik Skubal absolutely exploited that during his start. Why pitch in the zone if the Braves are going to chase outside of the zone? Mauricio Dubon and Matt Olson were big culprits in this department, but it affected everyone.
Maybe all of the blame shouldn't be placed on the umpire, since the Braves had a pretty high 33.7% chase rate during the 2026 season. It's one of their biggest flaws. They are an aggressive offense and sometimes forget to take a patient approach. It doesn't help when players like Ozzie Albies and Michael Harris II can hit balls outside the zone so darn well. But that strength is also a massive risk, especially in the offseason.
Ultimately, the Braves ran out of time to overcome the Dodgers' early lead. Albies' two-run homer in the ninth at least reminded LA how quickly Atlanta can come back. And the Braves need to find a way to win Game 2 so they don't head back to Truist Park down 2-0. That's a tough task to come back from in a five-game series.
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