Dodgers will have time to reset rotation, bullpen and struggling Ohtani for NLCS

ATLANTA (AP) — Finishing off the Atlanta Braves in four games in the NL Division Series meant more to the Los Angeles Dodgers than avoiding a winner-take-all Game 5.

By ending the series Wednesday night with a 4-1 victory, the Dodgers will have extra time to reset their rotation, bullpen and struggling slugger Shohei Ohtani for the Championship Series opening game Sunday.

“It’s important. It was very important,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “Once you get to an elimination game, a Game 5 or a Game 7, anything can happen. And to be able to win today, get back, reset, have a day off tomorrow, set the rotation, it’s huge.”

The extra rest means Tarik Skubal likely will be the choice to start Sunday against Milwaukee instead of handling a Game 5 against the Braves. Similarly, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow will be well rested for their expected NLCS starts.

Infielder Miguel Rojas may need the extra rest for a sore lower back that kept him out Wednesday night.

Also, Edwin Díaz will have ample time to reset after recording saves on back-to-back days to close out the series against Atlanta. The ninth-inning work showed Díaz is re-established as the closer.

“The team trusts me,” Díaz said. “I think that was the most important thing for me, the team trusts me. They give me the ball every single day. And the last two nights it’s been amazing. That’s why I came here to win games and close games like this one. So I’m really happy right now.”

Despite those advantages, Roberts is preparing for a tough NLCS as the Dodgers try to move closer to their goal of becoming the first NL team to win three consecutive World Series.

"We’ve got our work cut out,” Roberts said, adding extra rest also will be important for such players as Ohtani and Freddie Freeman.

Ohtani was 2 for 13 against Atlanta and hasn't homered since Aug. 18 while dealing with injuries to his right biceps, left knee and neck that have also kept the two-way player off the mound.

“So kind of enjoy this one, get Shohei a couple of days to get back,” Roberts said. “Freddie, he had a big series, but, again a couple of days will help him. Give our guys in the 'pen a little reset. So we’ll be ready to go Game 1.”

Díaz pitched a perfect ninth inning in the clinching win. The on-field celebration was a low-key affair, but Roberts and his players, wearing “Take October” T-shirts and goggles to protect their eyes, soon were drenched with champagne.

The Dodgers made the most of their opportunity to celebrate another postseason series win while maintaining their focus on a third straight World Series championship.

“Our goal is to win the World Series, not this series,” Díaz said. "We’ve got eight more wins to go. So our goal is win those eight games. And at the end of the day when we win those eight games, we celebrate.

“Now we’re going back to LA to keep working. I know all the guys are on the same track. Now we just celebrate a little bit, go back to LA, get working and be ready for Sunday.”

Andy Pages' bases-loaded single in the seventh drove in two runs to give the Dodgers a 3-1 lead. Max Muncy added to the lead with a homer in the ninth, his third blast of the postseason.

“Obviously, we have big teams, big series coming up,” Pages said. “We’re going to face tough teams, so prepare for those moments, but also take advantage of the opportunity of being here and enjoying these moments. And knowing that our ultimate goal is to win the World Series. So focus on that.”

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Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, right, celebrates after winning Game 4 of baseball's National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Los Angeles Dodgers players celebrate winning Game 4 of baseball's National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Los Angeles Dodgers players celebrate winning Game 4 of baseball's National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Los Angeles Dodgers players celebrate winning Game 4 of baseball's National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani celebrates winning Game 4 of baseball's National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

BEIRUT (AP) — Palestinian factions are discussing postponing legislative elections that had been planned for November, officials said Thursday.

A top official with the Hamas-allied Islamic Jihad group said the factions had reached an agreement to delay the vote, which is facing huge logistical issues in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem and war-ravaged Gaza, as well as the long history of internal feuding among the Palestinians.

A spokesperson for Fatah, the party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, stopped short of confirming that a final decision had been reached. But he said the election timing will be part of a “dialogue and national consensus” among the factions and that the potential postponement will be discussed by the executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Abbas has set Nov. 28 as the date of parliamentary elections in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. If the elections proceeded on schedule, they would be the first polls in 20 years.

Islamic Jihad deputy secretary-general Mohammad al-Hindi said in a statement to The Associated Press that after meeting in Cairo, the factions “have reached understandings regarding the resumption of Palestinian national dialogue and agreed to postpone the upcoming Palestinian elections.”

He said that the Fatah delegation will return to Ramallah to finalize consultations.

Fatah spokesperson Abdel Fattah Dolah said the party wants elections to take place but is engaged in dialogue with the other factions on their timing, in light of calls for their postponement and “the difficult circumstances on the ground facing our people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank." He described the discussions in Cairo as “very positive.”

Countries that back the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority have pushed for elections as part of broader reforms. In the past, Palestinian leaders have postponed elections at the eleventh hour, citing challenges including campaigning and voting in east Jerusalem. The logistics of voting in the Gaza Strip are even more complicated.

Failing to hold the elections could strain the Palestinian Authority’s relations with donor countries that help fund it.

Key logistical issues for holding the vote in Gaza and east Jerusalem remain unresolved, and leading factions have not registered electoral slates, with the deadline for candidates less than a week away.

Basem Naim, a member of Hamas’ political bureau, said the scheduled elections had been premature.

“Election is part of a democratic process, and it has to be built on a solid Palestinian-Palestinian dialogue to see how can we proceed forward in this conflict, and how to manage our internal disputes, and to offer, or how to present the Palestinians to the world with a united leadership, with a united vision,” he said.

Naim said Hamas would support postponing the election if it would allow for such a dialogue to take place.

Without elections, the Palestinian Authority has gradually lost popularity in Gaza and the West Bank, where many Palestinians see it as ineffective, corrupt and acting as a subcontractor for Israel's decades-long occupation.

Hamas won a majority of seats in the 132-member Palestinian Legislative Council the last time elections were held in 2006. Israel and Western countries then boycotted its government, fueling months of unrest that led to the Hamas takeover of Gaza the following year. Abbas dissolved the parliament in 2018 and postponed the most recent scheduled elections in 2021.

Ahead of November's scheduled election, an unlikely alliance — which appeared to take aim at 90-year-old Abbas — had emerged between Hamas, Islamic Jihad and a bloc led by Mohammed Dahlan, a former Fatah security chief who was exiled in 2010 after a bitter falling-out with Abbas and had previously been driven from Gaza by Hamas. Dahlan has since cultivated close ties with the United Arab Emirates, which has relations with Israel and was the driving force behind the 2020 Abraham Accords.

He serves as an adviser to the UAE's ruler and maintains extensive contacts with U.S. and Israeli officials, making him an unlikely ally for Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which have fought Israel for decades.

There have been multiple attempts over the years to bring Hamas and Islamic Jihad into the Fatah-led PLO, the highest body representing the Palestinian cause internationally, but all have foundered.

A main sticking point has been the PLO’s recognition of Israel. While Hamas officials have said they are willing to accept a Palestinian state in Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem — territories Israel seized in the 1967 Mideast war — they have stopped short of recognizing Israel, while Islamic Jihad takes a harder line.

Both are considered terrorist groups by the U.S. and other Western countries, which have voiced support for Palestinian democracy over the years while rejecting any government that includes Hamas.

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Metz reported from Jerusalem.

Islamic Jihad deputy Secretary General Mohammed al-Hindi talks during an interview with The Associated Press in Istanbul on Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)