Saturday afternoon at Dodger Stadium brings an October matchup with plenty of memory behind it: the Braves and Dodgers, back together in the postseason for the first time since Atlanta took the 2021 National League Championship Series on its way to a fourth franchise title. Los Angeles enters this National League Division Series as the two-time defending World Series champion, chasing a third straight crown, while Atlanta arrives straight from a hard-fought Wild Card Series win over Philadelphia.
Game 1 is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET, 1 p.m. local time, with FOX, FOX Deportes and FOX One carrying the broadcast. Triple-digit temperatures are expected in Los Angeles, adding another layer to a series that already begins with two clubs carrying very different workloads. The Dodgers have had time to reset; the Braves had to empty out much of their roster to get through the Phillies in the best-of-three opening round.
Atlanta held the upper hand during the regular season, taking five of six meetings and holding a 26-15 edge in runs. One of those games was a 1-0 Braves win on Aug. 27, when catcher Drake Baldwin opened the game against Yoshinobu Yamamoto with a homer that proved to be the entire offense. But a Division Series asks different questions, especially of a Braves pitching staff that has been thinned by injuries.
A thin Atlanta rotation meets a rested Dodgers staff
The Braves had not named a Game 1 starter, and the choice may say as much about availability as matchups. Chris Sale cannot return before Sunday’s Game 2, while Tyler Mahle is not eligible until Tuesday’s Game 3. Martín Pérez, sidelined since Sept. 1 with lower-back inflammation, also cannot be activated until Game 3.
Grant Holmes is a candidate to handle the early innings after throwing only two innings in Thursday’s clincher against Philadelphia. J.R. Ritchie is another possibility, and Atlanta could use a left-handed reliever to open before turning to either Holmes or Ritchie. Right-hander Bryce Elder, recovering from right knee surgery, will not be available in this series.
Los Angeles had yet to make its Game 1 assignment official, but Yamamoto is the expected choice. Using him Saturday would keep him in line for a possible winner-take-all Game 5 on his normal rest. In a rotation that also includes Tarik Skubal, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow, Yamamoto remains the club’s leading arm. Opponents hit .182 against him during the regular season, third best among qualified Major League starters.
Yamamoto’s October résumé grew considerably last fall. He threw complete games in consecutive starts spanning the NLCS and World Series, then worked Game 7 on no rest to finish the championship run. The Dodgers will ask him to set the tone again as they try to become the first National League franchise to win three consecutive World Series.
Only four teams have ever completed a three-peat, with the 1998-2000 Yankees the most recent. Los Angeles is seeking to become the fifth.
Atlanta’s bullpen should be mostly available despite the Wild Card workload. Didier Fuentes is the exception after pitching on three straight days. Robert Suarez has allowed an extra-base hit in each of his three outings since coming back from right elbow inflammation, but his velocity ticked up during two-thirds of an inning Thursday. With Dylan Lee struggling through much of the second half and into October, Suarez could see meaningful late-inning work.
The Dodgers may operate without one designated closer. Tanner Scott, Roki Sasaki and Edwin Díaz are all candidates for ninth-inning assignments. Right-hander Edgardo Henriquez, whose season was interrupted by a lower-back strain, is expected to join the NLDS roster if he comes through workouts without trouble. Will Klein has faced hitters while working back from right elbow discomfort, though he has not appeared in a game since July 31 and is viewed more as depth than a central bullpen piece.
Lineups bring October questions of their own
Baldwin, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Matt Olson will welcome the likely right-handed look from Yamamoto after Atlanta saw lefties Jesús Luzardo and Cristopher Sánchez in the Wild Card Series. The projected Braves order has Baldwin leading off, followed by Acuña in right field, Olson at first base, Michael Harris II in center, Mauricio Dubón at shortstop, Ozzie Albies at second, Austin Riley at third, Mike Yastrzemski in left and Dominic Smith as designated hitter.
Atlanta showed some life at the plate in Thursday’s win over Philadelphia, with Olson, Albies and Harris each going deep. Harris finished the Wild Card Series 5-for-11. Baldwin went 2-for-13 in the round, while Acuña was 1-for-9.
The Dodgers are expected to lead off with Shohei Ohtani against a right-hander, then place Mookie Betts at shortstop, Freddie Freeman at first, Will Smith behind the plate, Kyle Tucker in right, Teoscar Hernández in left, Max Muncy at third, Andy Pages in center and Tommy Edman at second. Manager Dave Roberts used Ohtani atop the lineup against right-handed pitching and Betts there versus lefties after Ohtani returned from right biceps and left knee injuries, and that platoon arrangement is expected to continue through the postseason.
Betts enters October after a huge September, posting a 1.112 OPS. Hernández was nearly as productive at .965, while Tucker’s .890 OPS marked his strongest month of an otherwise disappointing first season in Los Angeles. Freeman remains a concern after dealing with right patellar tendinitis early last month; since July began, he has slugged .355. Ohtani carried a .666 OPS over his final 29 games as the biceps and knee issues affected him.
Lane Thomas could offer Atlanta another roster decision after taking batting practice this week while rehabbing a left intercostal strain. Pérez also could be included on the roster if the Braves believe he will be ready once eligible for Game 3.
This is the sixth postseason meeting between the clubs. Atlanta won the 1996 NLDS and the 2021 NLCS, while Los Angeles prevailed in the 2013 and 2018 Division Series and the 2020 NLCS. The history is split, the regular-season results favored Atlanta, and the championship expectations sit squarely on the Dodgers. By Saturday evening, somebody will have the first October edge in a series built to test both depth and nerve.
