The first full round of the Major League Baseball playoffs features the best-of-five divisional series. In the National League, the Atlanta Braves, champions of the NL East, meet the Los Angeles Dodgers, who won the NL West in a one-game playoff Monday when they beat the Colorado Rockies 5-2.
Odds on the Dodgers to win the series are -210, with the Braves a +175 underdog. New odds should be posted after each game of the series, and you can also bet individually on each game.
Series schedule
The series will begin Thursday, Oct. 4, with the first two games, Thursday and Friday, in L.A. Then the series will shift to Atlanta for Game 3 on Sunday and, if necessary, Game 4 on Monday. Game 5, if necessary, would be back in L.A. on Wednesday, Oct. 10.
The Dodgers own home-field advantage in the series because they went 92-71 (counting Monday’s tiebreaker win) while the Braves finished 90-72.
The winner of the series will face the winner of the other National League Division Series between the Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Rockies in the National League Championship Series.
Atlanta Braves at a glance
To say the Braves were a young team this season is an understatement. They used two of the youngest players the Major Leagues have seen in some years in 20-year-old outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr., 21-year-old infielder Ozzie Albies — and both were among Atlanta’s biggest stars. The top three starting pitchers are 27 or younger, and Freddie Freeman, the Braves’ best all-around hitter, is a grizzled veteran at only 29.
But instead of the 2018 season being a youth movement that built toward future contention, the Braves ran away with the NL East as other contenders Philadelphia and Washington faded down the stretch.
Atlanta scored 759 runs, tied for 10th-best in the Majors, and the Braves allowed 657 runs, eighth-best in baseball. They had nine players hit at least 10 home runs, including 26 for Acuna, 24 for Albies and 23 for Freeman. Freeman led the team with a .309 batting average.
The team’s top four starters are Mike Foltynewicz (13-10, 2.85 ERA, 202 Ks in 183 IP), Sean Newcomb (12-9, 3.90 ERA, 160 Ks in 164 IP), Julio Teheran (9-9, 3.94 ERA, 162 Ks in 175.2 IP) and Anibal Sanchez (7-6, 2.83 ERA, 135 Ks in 136.2 IP).
Los Angeles Dodgers at a glance
The Dodgers are a veteran team that was one game away from winning the World Series last year and is built to win it all this year. They struggled out of the gate in April and found themselves behind by as many as nine games in the rugged NL West.
But the Dodgers rallied, made the season’s biggest splash at the trade deadline — acquiring infielder Manny Machado from the Baltimore Orioles — and tracked down the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies to force a one-game tiebreaker with the Rockies. They won that tiebreaker to skip the Wild Card game and claim home-field advantage in this series.
L.A.’s offense hit 235 home runs this season, best in the National League and second only to the Yankees in all of baseball. The Dodgers used those long balls to score 804 runs, again best in the NL and fifth in all of baseball. Ten players hit at least 10 homers for this club, led by Max Muncy’s 35, and 25 each for Cody Bellinger and Joc Pederson. Machado hit 13 for L.A. and a total of 37 when you include his Orioles’ stats.
The pitching, led by ace Clayton Kershaw and young phenom Walker Buehler, also was among the best in baseball. The Dodgers allowed 610 runs, best in the NL and second-best in baseball to the Houston Astros. L.A.’s run differential of +194 was also best in the NL.
Head-to-head competition
Both of the regular-season series between the Braves and Dodgers took place in the summertime, with the Dodgers winning both for a 5-2 season-series win. Los Angeles visited Atlanta from June 8-10. The teams split the first two games, with the Dodgers winning the opener 7-3 and the Braves taking the second game 5-3 before L.A. took the rubber game 7-2 behind 6 2/3 strong innings from Ross Stripling.
Then, the Braves visited Dodger Stadium from July 26-29. The Dodgers came out with strong starting pitching in the first three games, winning 8-2, 4-1 and 5-1 behind very strong starts from Rich Hill, Kershaw and Alex Wood, respectively. The Braves salvaged the finale of the four-game set, winning 4-1 behind Newcomb, who came within one out of a no-hitter on a Sunday afternoon.
Expected pitching rotation
When gambling on a series, it’s extremely important to know the starting pitching rotation for each team. The Dodgers announced Tuesday that Hyun-Jin Ryu, and not Kershaw, would start Game 1. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as Ryu was 7-3 with a sterling 1.97 ERA in 82.1 innings this season. Kershaw will be in line to start Game 2, with Buehler and perhaps Hill to follow.
Stripling, Wood and Kenta Maeda have all joined the Dodgers’ bullpen but are capable of soaking up multiple innings should a starter struggle.
As for the Braves, Foltynewicz has been announced as the Game 1 starter. Newcomb, Teheran and Sanchez should follow.
Series prediction
The Dodgers have been one of the very best teams in baseball over the past five years, winning four division titles and coming ever closer to an elusive first World Series title since 1988. The Braves have had a terrific season and are a legitimate threat to make some noise in the postseason with their youthful energy and athletic roster.
So what gives in this one? A short series is a risky proposition, but the Dodgers are the pick here because of several advantages. One is in starting pitching. Kershaw has been the best pitcher in baseball over the past eight years, and while he has struggled by his lofty standards, Ryu, Buehler and Hill provide impressive depth to the rotation. The Dodgers also have the edge of having played meaningful games for the past few weeks while the Braves have been in cruise control. That can make a big difference for a game or two, which is all it takes to swing the series.
And finally, the Dodgers simply have the more talented, more veteran roster. Anything can happen in five games, but it says here it’s worth paying the extra odds to take the Dodgers to reach another NLCS.
Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers -210
