It took until the final game to decide who would be playing the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS, but after the Dodgers scraped out a 2-1 victory over the Giants, they move on to the next round in the playoffs. The Braves only lost one game to the Brewers in the Division Series, but now face off against the defending champs, and the team that had the second best record in the league (and just knocked out the team that had the best record in the league).
Look below to find our free MLB Picks for tonight’s National League Championship Series Game One between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Atlanta Braves!
Los Angeles Dodgers @ Atlanta Braves (Game 1) – 8.07pm EDT
It’s the first game of the NLCS and there is a World Series spot up for grabs for the team that can win the best of seven series. The Dodgers fought off the best team in the league to make it through to the NLCS, and are just a handful of games away from heading back to the World Series. After dropping the first game in the Division Series, the Braves then went on to win three in a row, to book their spot in the NLCS. It’s been a long time between drinks for the Braves, who last won a World Series title in 1995.
Katherine Mouradian
The Dodgers haven’t had an easy ride to the NLCS. After coming second in the NL West, despite having the second best record in the league, they had to overcome a red hot Cardinals team in the Wild Card game to make it through to the Division Series. Then they had to face off against the Giants, who were the only team that had a better record then them in the regular season, and that series was stretched over the full five games. The Braves didn’t get off to the best of starts in the Division Series, losing their first game to the Brewers, but then bounced back and won the next three to book their spot in the NLCS.
The first two games in this series will be on the road for the Dodgers, but that doesn’t seem to faze them that much. Betts had a great game, considering the final score was just 2-1, he held four of the total eight hits that the Dodgers had that night. At the time of writing we still don’t know who the starting pitcher for the Dodgers will be, but it could certainly be Scherzer, which would be his third start of this postseason. Throughout the regular season, he had a record of 15-4, which included a 2.45 ERA, 0.864 WHIP, 36 walks along with 236 strikeouts, across 179.1 innings. Scherzer was a reliever pitcher in the Game 5 clash against the Giants, and he had a scoreless inning, and allowed no hits or walks, but was able to strike out two players.
ON TO ATLANTA! #RepeatLA pic.twitter.com/YtFMGDdCn1
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 15, 2021
The Braves have got some momentum and they will be trying to keep it coming into this clash, after winning their previous three games in a row. The Braves were very good with their pitching in that series, and they limited the Brewers to just six runs in total. Like with the Dodgers, we are still unsure who will be on the mound for the Braves (at the time of writing), although it could very well be Fried. This will be Fried’s second postseason start, and he finished the regular season with a record of 14-7, which included a 3.04 ERA, 1.087 WHIP, along with 41 walks and 158 strikeouts, across 165.2 innings. The last time Fried started on the mound was Game 2 of the Divisions Series, which he was able to help lead the Braves to victory.
The Dodgers are through, but they must be getting tired. On top of that, they are a bit hot and cold when it comes to putting runs on the board. If the series between the Braves and the Brewers was anything to go by, the Braves will be able to restrict the amount of runs the Dodgers will be able to score. Fried is also on fire and has gone 7-0 which includes an ERA of 1.46 across his last 11 regular season starts. When you also consider the Braves are playing at home and have had a few more days rest compared to the Dodgers, I’m going to have to go with the Braves for the opening game.
Katherine’s MLB Pick: Atlanta Braves (+112)
Mike Su
The Dodgers play the Braves in game 1 of this series. During the regular season the Dodgers dominated this series winning 4 of the 6 matchups. Despite the 18 win difference, the Braves actually played each game very closely, losing by more than 2 runs just once in their 4 losses. The Dodgers do have the statistical advantage in both batting and pitching as a whole. The Dodgers scored 40 more runs than the Braves during the regular season, while also 95 fewer runs on the other side of the ball.
The battle resumes.#BattleATL pic.twitter.com/de7DD4uYt2
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) October 15, 2021
The Dodgers and their league best defense should be able to subdue the Braves in this game who couldn’t really put up points against the Brewers in their last playoff series, scoring more than 3 runs just once in 4 games. Although the Braves defense has been superb in the playoffs allowing just 5 runs in 4 games, they will be facing an opponent that is miles ahead in terms of batting than the Brewers.
The Braves will be starting Max Fried to try to stop the Dodgers. Fried was good in the regular season with a 3.04 ERA and 1.09 WHIP. He was also good against the Dodgers allowing just 2 runs in 12 innings against them this season. However, the Dodgers should be able to break through enough and overcome the Braves in a low-scoring game.
Mike’s MLB Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers (-132)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
