the smoke is clearing
The Dodgers went 1-5 against the Braves, including getting swept in Atlanta. Atlanta also finished with one of the stronger run differentials in the NL.
The White Sox and the Yankees won their Wild Card Series in the AL, and the Padres swept the listless Cubs in the NL. The only Wild Card Teams left are the Braves and the Phillies, who are tied at 1-1. Winner takes all tonight to decide who plays the Dodgers.
Dodgers NLDS schedule:
Game 1: Saturday, Oct. 3 at Dodger Stadium, 1:00 PM Pacific / 4:00 PM Eastern
Game 2: Sunday, Oct. 4 at Dodger Stadium, 5:00 PM Pacific / 8:00 PM Eastern
Game 3: Tuesday, Oct. 6, at Atlanta or Philadelphia
Games 4 and 5 if necessary.
If Philadelphia wins tonight: that is the team the Dodgers handled better this year, going 4-2 against the Phillies. Philadelphia still has serious thunder with Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber, and both homered in Game 2 yesterday. Their bullpen has also already been pushed, with Andrew Painter throwing three innings in relief.
If Atlanta wins: the regular-season history is much uglier. The Dodgers went 1-5 against the Braves, including getting swept in Atlanta. Atlanta also finished with one of the stronger run differentials in the NL.
There is one potentially important wrinkle: Atlanta's rotation is pretty battered right now. They are reportedly looking at Grant Holmes/Ray Kerr plus the bullpen for Game 3 tonight, rather than having a rested frontline starter.
So from a purely factual matchup standpoint, the contrast is pretty stark:
One thing I’d really watch tonight is how many pitchers the winner has to burn. The Dodgers are sitting at home while Philadelphia and Atlanta play a winner-take-all game. If tonight turns into an 11-inning bullpen barbecue, that could matter almost as much as which team survives.
And based strictly on the season series, Atlanta gave the Dodgers substantially more trouble than Philadelphia did. However, this is the playoffs... so anything can happen.
I think you might see a different Dodger team in the playoffs, insofar as the hitting goes. Some think that DePaula AND Kim could make the playoff roster. Some think the Dodgers could go with 12 pitchers and 14 position players. We shall find out soon...
Discussion (8)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Doesn’t matter who they play. If they hit , they win. The pitching will be superb. Doc will manage like he has for the past 2 World Series. HIT! HiT! HIT!!!!!. That’s the key to winning another championship. A rested Freddie. A motivated Mookie. A rejuvenated Teo. A healthy Will Smith. A rested Pages. A determined Max. And a Tucker , who I believe comes up big in the playoffs! Ohtani? Will he be in beast mode? Or will he be in bust mode? I’m thinking BEAST mode. Bring on whomever!
It doesn't matter to me who we will play Saturday. Show up and win!
I said it before and I’ll say it again - who did what yesterday means nothing. What matters is now.
The Dodger team was built for this moment. It’s now, finally, October. If they do what they are paid to do, they will win.
I would rather play the Braves due to the Phillies starting pitching. The regular season match-ups don't matter much to me. The Dodgers manage (rest) the staff al season, so it's hard to get a read. Case in point, the Brewers swept the Dodgers during last year's regular season.
We lost 3 1 run games In ATL ANY of those games could have went the other way.
I dont care who we face.
Kim makes sense as a pinch-runner and not much else. Unless he's been working on his bunting.
I think he gets traded in the offseason to the Angels or Seattle.