From the start, the Atlanta Braves knew that they would be going with a bullpen game in Game 2 of the National League Division Series.

The unexpected twist: The Dodgers essentially had to do the same thing, as well.

After a rather straightforward victory in the opening game of this best-of-five series, nothing went according to plan for the Dodgers on Sunday.

Blake Snell failed to complete four innings, grinding through poor command and long at-bats in a start of only one run but also five walks. 

The relief corps was saddled with a heavy workload, turning another sweltering night at Chavez Ravine into a sweat-inducing battle of the bullpens.

And after the Dodgers gift-wrapped the Braves a run in the fifth inning, when Teoscar Hernández turned a seemingly routine fly ball into a triple and Kris Bubic threw a run-scoring wild pitch, the two-time defending champions found themselves on the back foot for the first time this fall.

In a 3-2 loss, they wouldn’t recover.

Instead, a series the Dodgers seemed to have under control coming into Sunday has quickly been flipped on its head.

The Braves’ decision to save staff ace Chris Sale for Game 3 –– the controversial pre-game talking point –– now looks prescient. The Dodgers’ decision to start Snell in Game 2, and not Yoshinobu Yamamoto, now seems questionable.

And while the Braves had to burn through the heart of their bullpen, using six different arms to piece together 27 outs, so too did the Dodgers, who summoned six relievers of their own in a losing effort.

With Game 3 set for Tuesday night back in Atlanta, this 1-1 series suddenly appears to be up for grabs.

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The Dodgers were behind from the start on Sunday, with Snell –– who had previously pitched just five innings since Sept. 11 because of a groin injury, yet got the nod for Game 2 to remain on his regular pitching schedule –– giving up a quick run in the first.

The Braves loaded the bases with one out, on a single from Ronald Acuña Jr. single and two walks from Snell, before Mauricio Dubón got a run home on an infield knock –– sending a ground ball deep into the hole at shortstop that Mookie Betts fielded, but made an errant throw to first on.

Snell ultimately limited the damage there, but required 27 pitches in doing so, putting him on track for his short, inefficient start.

The bigger problem, meanwhile, was Braves opener Ray Kerr –– who showed no signs of fatigue just two days removed from a heroic 47-pitch outing in Game 3 of the wild-card series.

Like he did then against the Phillies, Kerr gave Atlanta unexpected length, working all the way into the third without damage.

Trouble was brewing in his final frame, after Miguel Rojas –– inserted into the starting lineup in place of Max Muncy to counteract the left-handed pitcher –– roped a full-count curveball down the line for a leadoff double.

But, the Dodgers couldn’t take advantage. 

It would become a theme on the night.

The fourth inning saw the Dodgers briefly the score, when Freddie Freeman –– he of just one home run in his final 66 regular-season games while battling a right knee injury –– lifted a low slider from right-hander Grant Holmes over the wall in right.

But there would be another missed chance later in the inning, with high-leverage Atlanta left-hander Dylan Lee stranding a pair of runners, before the Dodgers fell right back behind in the fifth on Hernández’s and Bubic’s miscues.

Off the bat, Hernández appeared to have a bead on a slicing opposite-field, two-out line drive from Michael Harris II. But the ball kept drifting away from him, evading his outstretched glove before rattling around in the corner for a triple. Three pitches later, Bubic airmailed a sweeper that catcher Will Smith couldn’t handle.

The self-inflicted wound left the Dodgers trailing again, 2-1.

From then on, the game was a frustrating grind.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Dodgers’ first two batters got aboard, before hard-throwing right-hander Robert Suarez came in and retired the next three he faced.

After that, another rocket-armed righty, Didier Fuentes, went nine up, nine down over three scoreless innings –– all while the Braves doubled their lead on a two-out RBI double Harris smacked against a dead-red cutter from Edgardo Henriquez in the seventh.

That would be just enough cushion for Atlanta, which sent Fuentes back to the mound for a fourth inning of work, watched him give up a two-out home run to Max Muncy, but ultimately survived after closer Raisel Iglesias came in and got the pinch-hitting Josue De Paula to pop up for the final out.

In the end, the Dodgers managed just six hits, went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base.

They have now squandered their home-field advantage. They no longer hold a clear pitching edge either. They haven’t even scored yet without the help of a home run.

Instead, their best-laid plans have gone all wrong.

This series is all square at one win apiece. In their quest for a three-peat, it’s officially game on.