SE Missouri State Professional Athletes

A small-town Missouri school doesn't send many arms to October baseball. But SE Missouri State's Dylan Dodd is right in the thick of it, starting for the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers — and pitching like he belongs there.

Dodd Shines, Offense Doesn't Follow

Dodd took the mound for Game 1 of the NLDS on Saturday, squaring off against one of the most formidable lineups in baseball. By the numbers, he was excellent — posting a 1.93 ERA through his playoff appearances in the series — but the Braves' offense couldn't hold up its end of the bargain, managing just three runs in a 5-3 loss.

That stat line isn't a fluke. Against a Dodgers lineup featuring Shohei Ohtani — who entered the series as the favorite for the NL's Hank Aaron Award — Dodd held his own. Ohtani managed a first-inning single off him, one of just two hits he had in the first two games of the series combined. Keeping Ohtani to a base hit and nothing more isn't a moral victory — it's the job, and Dodd did it.

The bigger picture is what makes this story worth telling. Dodd is a product of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, not a traditional MLB pipeline. SE Missouri State is not Ohio State or LSU. That a Redhawk is starting playoff games against the defending World Series champions is, by any reasonable measure, remarkable.

The NLDS Outlook

Atlanta dropped Game 1 despite Dodd's performance, putting early pressure on the Braves' rotation as the series shifts. Los Angeles holds the early series advantage, and their lineup — Ohtani and beyond — remains the most dangerous in the National League. But if the Braves' offense can find its footing, Dodd's playoff ERA suggests the pitching side of the ledger isn't where Atlanta should be worried.

For SEMO fans, the calculus is simple: their guy is pitching in October, holding down a lineup built to win championships, and doing it well. Whatever happens in the series, that's a story Cape Girardeau will be telling for a while.

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When the Atlanta Braves needed someone to open Game 1 of the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers, they turned to a kid from Cape Girardeau.

SE Missouri State alum Dylan Dodd got the ball Saturday at Dodger Stadium, making him the Braves' starter for the biggest game of the 2026 postseason to date. Atlanta, fresh off winning the NL East and dispatching the Philadelphia Phillies in the Wild Card round, handed the lefty one of the most prominent pitching assignments in the organization's recent memory.

The matchup was no soft landing. Dodd faced a Dodgers club that won back-to-back World Series titles and came into the NLDS with a first-round bye and Tarik Skubal — one of baseball's best — ready to counter on the mound. The Braves entered the series with starting pitching depth concerns after Chris Sale and Tyler Mahle were unavailable, making Dodd's role all the more consequential.

On the day, Dodd delivered three innings, striking out four and finishing with a 2.45 ERA in the outing — a respectable showing in a hostile environment against the defending champions. Atlanta dropped the game 3-5, but Dodd's performance wasn't the reason. For a lefty who entered the postseason as one of several multi-inning options in a fluid rotation, earning and then holding his own in a Game 1 spotlight is the kind of moment that defines careers.

It wasn't a perfect October for Dodd overall. The day prior, in a relief appearance against the Phillies, he was tagged for an earned run in just two-thirds of an inning — an ERA of 13.50 in that outing — before settling in for the more consequential assignment the following afternoon. The quick turnaround from short relief to postseason starter speaks to the Braves' confidence in him, however irregular the path.

For Redhawks fans, the moment carries real weight. SE Missouri State doesn't churn out postseason starters against Dodger Stadium rosters every October. Dodd's rise from a mid-major program to a legitimate piece of a contending playoff rotation is the kind of story alumni programs point to for years.

Joey Lucchesi (Angels) and Wade Stauss (Cardinals) are also active in MLB, though neither team qualified for the postseason this year. The spotlight this week belongs squarely to Dodd — a Redhawk standing on one of baseball's biggest October stages.