SERIES SCHEDULE
(all times PT)
Game 1 – Braves at Dodgers, Saturday, 1 p.m., FOX (Ch. 11)
Game 2 – Braves at Dodgers, Sunday, 5 p.m., FS1
Game 3 – Dodgers at Braves, Tuesday, 3 p.m., FS1
x-Game 4 – Dodgers at Braves, Wednesday, 3 p.m., FS1
x-Game 5 – Braves at Dodgers, Friday, 5 p.m., FOX (Ch. 11)
x – If necessary
Season series: The Braves won, 5-1.
TALE OF THE TAPE (OFFENSE)
Braves (NL rank) … category … Dodgers (NL rank)
94-68 (1st in NL East) … Record … 100-62 (1st in NL West)
742 (7th) … Runs scored … 801 (4th)
.246 (7th) … Batting avg. … .257 (2nd)
.309 (13th) … OBP … .338 (3rd)
.409 (5th) … Slugging pct. … .424 (2nd)
.718 (9th) … OPS … .762 (2nd)
204 (T-4th) … Home runs … 204 (T-4th)
83 (T-13th) … Stolen bases … 72 (15th)
TALE OF THE TAPE (PITCHING)
Braves (NL rank) … category … Dodgers (NL rank)
3.63 (3rd) … Team ERA … 3.55 (2nd)
3.76 (3rd) … Starters ERA … 3.43 (1st)
3.44 (2nd) … Bullpen ERA … 3.74 (4th)
1.24 (3rd) … WHIP … 1.14 (1st)
8.45 (6th) … Ks per 9 inns … 9.53 (3rd)
PROJECTED LINEUPS
BRAVES: DH Drake Baldwin (.284/.358/.459, 25 HRs, 79 RBIs), RF Ronald Acuña Jr. (.255/.345/.451, 20 HRs, 55 RBIs, 21 SBs), 1B Matt Olson (.251/.321/.502, 41 HRs, 93 RBIs), SS Mauricio Dubón (.276/.321/.399, 12 HRs, 73 RBIs, 10 SBs), CF Michael Harris II (.294/.321/.491, 26 HRs, 87 RBIs, 12 SBs), 2B Ozzie Albies (.237/.293/.392, 22 HRs, 73 RBIs), 3B Austin Riley (.219/.290/.364, 19 HRs, 72 RBIs), C Sean Murphy (.182/.256/.300, 3 HRs, 10 RBIs), LF Mike Yastrzemski (.221/.309/.380, 12 HRs, 41 RBIs)
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DODGERS: DH Shohei Ohtani (.275/.377/.512, 30 HRs, 81 RBIs, 11 SBs), SS Mookie Betts (.257/.326/.454, 23 HRs, 69 RBIs), 1B Freddie Freeman (.288/.362/.430, 16 HRs, 70 RBIs), C Will Smith (.260/.355/.426, 10 HRs, 34 RBIs, 73 games), LF Teoscar Hernandez (.267/.334/.425, 16 HRs, 64 RBIs), RF Kyle Tucker (.233/.330/.385, 17 HRs, 70 RBIs, 12 SBs), 3B Max Muncy (.252/.348/.490, 29 HRs, 76 RBIs), CF Andy Pages (.274/.343/.468, 23 HRs, 85 RBIs, 13 SBs), 2B Tommy Edman (.247/.329/.385, 8 HRs, 42 RBIs)
These are two star-filled lineups – loaded with underachievers.
For the Dodgers, Tucker was an expensive disappointment. Ohtani had, by his four-time league MVP standards, a down year offensively and remains a question mark due to health questions. Freeman slumped over the past two months, in part due to a knee issue. Betts finished strong over the past two months but is still in a three-year offensive decline. Smith played just 73 games due to a neck injury. Teoscar Hernandez put up his lowest power numbers (home runs and slugging percentage) for a full season since he broke in with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2018.
For the Braves, Albies and Riley both had big offensive dropoffs in 2026. Ha-Seong Kim was supposed to be their everyday shortstop but instead dealt with injuries and hit a dreadful .116 in limited playing time. After repeated knee injuries, Acuña no longer produced at his MVP-level of the past.
But both lineups have explosive potential. The Dodgers gained some offensive momentum with a strong September (albeit against weak competition). The Braves got a strong September from Acuña (a .307 average and .949 OPS) and home runs from Albies and Riley in the Wild Card Series. EDGE: EVEN
STARTING PITCHERS
BRAVES: LH Chris Sale (14-9, 2.16 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 11.1 Ks per 9 IP), RH Tyler Mahle (7-10, 3.99 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 8.3 Ks per 9 IP with Giants and Braves), RH Grant Holmes (10-6, 3.44 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 6.8 Ks per 9 IP), LH Ray Kerr (0-0, 1.47 ERA, 0.60 WHIP, 18⅓ IP in regular season)
DODGERS: RH Yoshinobu Yamamoto (14-9, 2.53 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 8.9 Ks per 9 IP), LH Tarik Skubal (12-7, 2.72 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 10.6 Ks per 9 IP with Tigers and Dodgers), LH Blake Snell (4-1, 1.90 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 11.6 Ks per 9 IP), RH Tyler Glasnow (5-2, 3.53 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 11.9 Ks per 9 IP)
The Dodgers rode their four starting pitchers – Yamamoto, Snell, Glasnow and Ohtani – to their 2025 World Series championship. That quartet pitched 68.5% of the Dodgers’ postseason innings last fall with Ohtani winning the NLCS MVP and Yamamoto the World Series MVP.
Substitute two-time Cy Young Award winner Skubal for Ohtani and this year’s foursome is even better. The Dodgers will have a definite advantage over any potential opponent this fall.
The Braves can match that just once – when Sale pitches. The veteran left-hander threw a five-hit, complete-game shutout against the Dodgers during the Braves’ three-game sweep in Atlanta in late August. It was the 37-year-old’s first complete game shutout since June 2019. But Sale started Game 1 of the Braves’ Wild Card Series and then pitched 1⅓ innings in Game 3 to close out the victory over the Phillies. He will not be available to pitch until Game 2 at the earliest and might start just once during the best-of-five series.
Beyond Sale, the Braves have unimposing options in Tyler Mahle (a midseason acquisition from the Giants), Grant Holmes (originally a Dodgers draft choice in 2014), AJ Smith-Shawver (moved to the bullpen after he struggled in his return from Tommy John surgery), Ray Kerr (a surprising 3⅓ scoreless innings in Game 3 against the Phillies) or maybe a bullpen game. Their list of injured starting pitchers – Bryce Elder, Spencer Strider, Martín Pérez and Spencer Schwellenbach – is more impressive. EDGE: DODGERS
PROJECTED BULLPEN
BRAVES: RH Raisel Iglesias (1-2, 2.55 ERA, 34 saves, 3 blown saves, 1.08 WHIP, 9.6 Ks per 9 IP), RH Didier Fuentes (7-2, 2.45 ERA, 3 saves, 1.11 WHIP, 11.3 Ks per 9 IP), LH Dylan Dodd (4-1, 2.54 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 9.6 Ks per 9 IP), RH Robert Suarez (4-0, 1.06 ERA, 4 saves, 0.88 WHIP, 6.9 Ks per 9 IP), LH Dylan Lee (6-1, 3.09 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 10.3 Ks per 9 IP), RH Victor Mederos (6-1, 3.41 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 8.9 Ks per 9 IP), LH Brent Suter (3-2, 3.36 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 7.7 Ks per 9 IP with Angels and Braves), RH AJ Smith-Shawver (0-3, 6.61 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 7.8 Ks per 9 IP, 32 games, 23 games started)
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DODGERS: LH Tanner Scott (1-6, 25 saves, 4 blown saves, 2.69 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 11.6 Ks per 9 IP), RH Roki Sasaki (5-5, 4.49 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 9.0 Ks per 9 IP, 23 games started), RH Evan Phillips (3-2, 1 save, 3.46 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 11.4 Ks per 9 IP), LH Alex Vesia (3-1, 3 saves, 2.64 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 11.5 Ks per 9 IP), RH Edwin Diaz (2-2, 7 saves, 4 blown saves, 8.68 ERA, 1.98 WHIP, 13.5 Ks per 9 IP), RH Edgardo Henriquez (4-1, 2 saves, 2.85 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 10.7 Ks per 9 IP), LH Jack Dreyer (5-2, 2 saves, 3.20 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 10.2 Ks per 9 IP), RH Brock Stewart (1-2, 1 save, 2.70 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 8.4 Ks per 9 IP)
The Braves had one of the more reliable bullpens in the National League this season. Their collective ERA (3.44) was second only to the Milwaukee Brewers and their closer, Iglesias, converted 34 of 37 save opportunities. Fuentes emerged as a dynamic setup man. Suarez returned from an elbow injury for the postseason. And they will have plenty of left-handed options to match up against the Dodgers’ left-handed hitters (Ohtani, Freeman, Tucker and Muncy).
The Dodgers’ bullpen, on the other hand, had an up-and-down year with their big-ticket closer, Diaz, spending most of the year on the sidelines recovering from injury. But the group they take into the postseason has given them reason to be confident. Diaz has looked much better since returning in September. Sasaki has last year’s postseason experience to rely on and enters this fall much more confident after making big strides as a starter in his second season. Henriquez is ready to return from a minor back injury. Phillips and Vesia are seasoned in postseason pressure and Scott was more reliable in ’26 than his first season with the Dodgers in ’25. EDGE: BRAVES
BENCH
BRAVES: IF Ha-Seong Kim (.116/.219/.140, 0 HRs, 9 RBIs), 1B-DH Dominic Smith (.253/.311/.383, 9 HRs, 46 RBIs), 1B-DH Rowdy Tellez (.200/.273/.500, 1 HR, 4 RBIs), OF/IF Luke Williams (0 regular season at-bats), OF Lane Thomas (.224/.318/.383. 11 HRs, 40 RBIs with Royals and Braves)
DODGERS: IF Miguel Rojas (.267/.312/.391, 4 HRs, 23 RBIs, 6 SBs), C Hunter Feduccia (.221/.312/.313, 3 HRs, 19 RBIs with Rays and Dodgers), IF/OF Kiké Hernandez (.222/.271/.400, 4 HRs, 12 RBIs), OF Alex Call (.233/.349/.307, 1 HR, 20 RBIs), IF Hyeseong Kim (.259/.323/.328, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 5 SBs), OF Josue De Paula (.323/.500/.581, 1 HR, 7 RBIs, 11 games)
The Dodgers go two-deep in postseason heroes on their bench with Rojas and Hernandez. “October Kiké” has already played a franchise-record 92 postseason games for the Dodgers. De Paula played his way into a bench role with a two-week audition in September. Hyeseong Kim would be a more surprising addition if he makes the NLDS roster as a one-tool option (pinch-runner).
The Braves can match none of that on their bench. Ha-Seong Kim was one of the worst hitters in MLB this year (though he did have a walk-off moment against the Dodgers during the August series in Atlanta). Thomas might be ready to return from an intercostal injury, which would improve the bench, giving the Braves a right-handed pinch-hit option against the Dodgers’ lefties. EDGE: DODGERS
MANAGERS
BRAVES: Walt Weiss, first season with Braves (94-68, .580), fifth season overall (377-433, .465 with Colorado Rockies and Braves), first postseason (2-1, .667)
DODGERS: Dave Roberts, 11th season (1,044-637, .621), 11th postseason (69-48, .590)
This might be as big a mismatch on paper as the Dodgers’ advantage in starting pitching. Roberts is on a path to Cooperstown for a career that includes more than 1,000 regular-season wins (faster than any previous manager), six 100-win seasons (tied for the most in MLB history), 69 postseason wins (third all-time) and more wins in winner-take-all postseason games (seven, most in MLB history) than postseason games Weiss has even managed (three – all this week). “Dave has been around a lot of winning,” Weiss said as the Braves headed to Los Angeles on Friday. “He’s had a lot of success. That certainly stands for something to have that kind of experience, and that kind of experience winning. This is kind of old hat for them. They do this virtually every year. So there’s something to be said for that.” Indeed, there is. EDGE: DODGERS
SERIES PREDICTION
This seems pretty straightforward. The Dodgers are the better team. Their starting pitching should dominate this series. They have had a week of rest and recovery for their ailing players while the Braves stretched their pitching staff through three games against the Phillies. But there is a cloud the Dodgers will have to dispel – they have not been very good against good teams for awhile now. In their last five series against teams that went on to qualify for the playoffs (four at home), they went 2-14 including a three-game sweep by the Braves in Atlanta. “It doesn’t matter,” Muncy said. “How many years have we seen it where – what was it in ’22? We beat the Padres like 16 times in the regular season and they beat us in the postseason. It doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t matter. You see it every year where there’s a team that really struggled against another team and they take it to them in the postseason. It really doesn’t matter. I know there’s things where you look at it on paper and say this is a good matchup. But in October it doesn’t really matter.” Fair enough. PREDICTION: DODGERS IN FOUR
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