The Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers will extend their recent playoff history when they meet in the National League Championship Series. This marks the third time in the past eight years, and second time in three years, these two teams have met in the postseason. But this is the first time they meet in the NLCS, starting Monday at Globe Life Field in Arlington.
Both teams are 5-0 so far in the post-season. They reached NLCS after sweeping their Wildcard and Divisional series opponents. It will be an interesting series in many aspects for Baseball fans. Dodgers finished regular season as No.1 seed overall, Braves were No.2 seed in National League, behind Dodgers.
Although the Braves might once again be considered underdogs, they match up much better than they did when they faced the Dodgers in the NL Division Series in both 2013 and ’18. Ronald Acuña Jr., Freddie Freeman and Marcell Ozuna sit atop an Atlanta lineup that has been nearly as potent as Los Angeles’ offense, which joined former MVP Award winners Mookie Betts and Cody Bellinger this year.
But while the Braves’ offense has been a focal point all season, Atlanta’s pitching staff has stolen the spotlight while recording shutouts in four of the team’s five postseason games.
Pitching Battle for Game 1?
Max Fried will be on the mound for Braves in Game 1, he is looking to rebound after allowing four runs over just four innings in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Marlins. The lefty had been coming off seven scoreless innings in his first career postseason start in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against the Reds. He was an NL Cy Young Award candidate before lower back spasms sidelined him for nearly two weeks in September.
Dave Roberts opted Walker Buehler as a Game 1 starter for NLCS. Because of his right index finger blister, Buehler has become a four-inning pitcher. But he’s had the opener for the first two postseason series and will again for the NLCS, followed by Clayton Kershaw in Game 2. The Dodgers piggybacked Buehler with Julio Urías in the Wild Card Series and Dustin May in the NLDS, although with no days off in a best-of-seven series, that won’t be likely this time around.
NLCS: Dodgers vs Braves Schedule
| Game | Date | Time | Matchup | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gm 1 | Oct. 12 | 8 p.m. | ATL @ LAD | FOX |
| Gm 2 | Oct. 13 | TBD | ATL @ LAD | FOX/FS1 |
| Gm 3 | Oct. 14 | TBD | LAD @ ATL | FOX/FS1 |
| Gm 4 | Oct. 15 | TBD | LAD @ ATL | FOX/FS1 |
| *Gm 5 | Oct. 16 | TBD | LAD @ ATL | FOX/FS1 |
| *Gm 6 | Oct. 17 | TBD | ATL @ LAD | FOX/FS1 |
| *Gm 7 | Oct. 18 | TBD | ATL @ LAD | FOX/FS1 |
NLCS Rooster:
Dodgers announced their 28-man roster for the National League Championship Series against the Braves on Monday morning. As manager Dave Roberts has previously announced, there were some changes for this round.
The club is carrying 15 pitchers and 13 position players for this best of 7 round. There are no off days for the NLCS.
There were two changes made by Dodgers Manager, DH Edwin Rios and LHP Alex Wood are on the roster for second baseman Gavin Lux and pinch-runner Terrance Gore. Lux was added to the roster for the last round after Rios suffered a groin injury. He made one plate appearance in the NLDS.
Terrance Gore has been on each postseason roster thus far but has yet to make it into a game. This also marks Wood’s first appearance on the active roster this postseason.
