While the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants battled in the only Division Series to go five games, the Atlanta Braves watched and waited for their opponent in the Championship Series. The Braves advanced to their second straight NLCS by beating the Milwaukee Brewers in three straight after dropping the opener. The Dodgers set up a rematch of last season’s NLCS by edging the Giants 2-1 in Game 5. LA overcame a 3-1 series deficit to the Braves last season en route to ending a long World Series drought.
The World Series favorite since before the season started the Dodgers showed no signs of a hangover winning 106 regular season games. They were pushed all season by their neighbors to the north, eventually falling a game off the pace. But they made up for it by winning the Division Series in an epic struggle. While the Dodgers burned through six pitchers on Thursday with Max Scherzer tossing the ninth to earn a save, the Braves had a few days to rest and set their rotation. Still, the Dodgers will be favored in the series that gets underway on Saturday.
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National League Championship Series Schedule (Best-of-seven)
Game 1: Dodgers at Braves, Saturday, October 16 (TBS)
Game 2: Dodgers at Braves, Sunday, October 17 (TBS)
Game 3: Braves at Dodgers, Tuesday, October 19 (TBS)
Game 4: Braves at Dodgers, Wednesday, October 20 (TBS)
Game 5: Braves at Dodgers, Thursday, October 21 (TBS) if necessary
Game 6: Dodgers at Braves, Saturday, October 23 (TBS) if necessary
Game 7: Dodgers at Braves, Sunday, October 24 (TBS) if necessary
It’s unfortunate that a team with 106 regular season wins has to open a series on the road. That hasn’t affected the Dodgers too much. They were 48-33 in road games during the regular season and won twice in three games at Oracle Park to take down the Giants. Home field could be huge in this series, though. The Braves won two of three over the Dodgers at home during the regular year while getting swept in a three-game series at Dodger Stadium.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Dave Roberts had to pull a lot of strings to get his club to the NLCS. The Dodgers won the last two games after falling behind 2-1. Pitching was a key to their success during the season and it played a pivotal role against the Giants. LA had the best staff ERA during the regular season and the group allowed a total of 10 runs in five games against the Giants. Roberts will have to figure out his rotation since Scherzer and Julio Urias both pitched in Game 5 and Walker Buehler got the start in Game 4.
Bullpen arms saved the Dodgers with the group sporting a 1.59 ERA so far in the postseason. Roberts may have been peaking ahead when he went with an opener in Thursday’s game. Corey Knebel pitched one inning and Scherzer threw just 13 pitches closing the game. As long as there are no extra inning games the Dodgers should be able to mix and match arms since everyone has been effective.
Offensively the Dodgers are hoping Cody Bellinger snaps out of his funk. The former league MVP struggled all season, but he’ll be remembered for the game-winning hit in the ninth inning against the Giants more than the .165/.240/.302 slash line he compiled. The Dodgers don’t need a lot of offense with a pitching staff that’s been so good. But they will need to score. They were blanked in both losses to the Giants while scoring 18 runs in three victories.
Atlanta Braves
The Braves get a chance at redemption after blowing a 3-1 NLCS lead over the Dodgers last year. It didn’t look like that was going to happen with injuries and an uninspired first half leaving them outside the playoff picture. A strong second half bolstered by impressive pitching lifted Atlanta to the top of the weak NL East, but I guess somebody had to win it.
It was pitching that carried Atlanta to a series win over Milwaukee allowing just six runs in the four games. Max Fried and Ian Anderson both had scoreless outings with Will Smith picking up a save in each of the wins by tossing a shutout inning. The entire staff posted a 1.54 ERA and 0.94 WHIP over 35 innings.
The potential loss of Jorge Soler could impact Atlanta’s offense. Soler was pulled from Game 4 against Milwaukee due to a positive COVID test. Still, the Braves went on to win the game 5-4. It’s not known exactly how long Soler will be out, but his power in the middle of the lineup will be missed. It’s hard to expect the pitching staff to have the kind of success against LA’s lineup that it had against the Brewers. Ozzie Albies, Dansby Swanson and Travis d’Arnaud will have to swing hot sticks to produce more runs.
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The Dodgers cleared one major hurdle in what was the World Series, taking down the Giants in a matchup of teams that combined to win 213 games during the season. As long as they don’t have a letdown the Dodgers should be back looking for a repeat. They have a deeper roster and can break out at anytime offensively. The Braves will hang tough, but the Dodgers will prevail in the end.
NLCS Prediction: Dodgers in 6
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