The Dodgers know who their National League Division Series opponent will be.
asserted
opponent → know → ?
It’s a familiar foe from postseasons of the not-too-distant past.
asserted
It → ’ → past
After developing a budding rivalry with the Atlanta Braves through playoff meetings in 2018 (a Dodgers NLDS win), 2020 (a memorable Dodgers comeback from a three-games-to-one deficit in the NL Championship Series) and 2021 (a Braves NLCS upset en route to their most World Series title), the two iconic franchises will square off again this fall, opening their best-of-five NLDS on Saturday at Dodger Stadium.
asserted
franchises → develop → Stadium
The Braves got there after a dramatic 2-1 wild-card series win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
asserted
Braves → get → Phillies
The Dodgers were waiting, preparing themselves during a bye week for the beginning of their World Series three-peat quest.
asserted
Dodgers → wait → quest
The Braves got the better of the Dodgers in the regular season, going 5-1 in head-to-head matchups including a series sweep at Truist Park in August.
asserted
Braves → get → August
But the slate has been wiped clean now.
asserted
slate → wipe → ?
The 100-win, second-seeded, two-time defending champion Dodgers will be the favorite.
asserted
Dodgers → seed → ?
With the NLDS now set, the California Post analyzed how the two clubs match up ahead of their latest October battle:
asserted
clubs → set → battle
At the plate
Getting on base
There was no better offense in the majors during the first half of the season than the Dodgers (through June, they ranked first in scoring, batting average and OPS).
asserted
they → get → scoring
But there were few bigger disappointments at the plate down the stretch (from July on, they ranked 15th in scoring, 14th in batting average and 11th in OPS).
asserted
they → be → OPS
Despite that, they still outpaced the Braves in most offensive categories.
asserted
they → outpace → categories
Atlanta finished the year eighth in scoring (4.58 runs per game, compared to the Dodgers’ 4.94 mark), 10th in batting average (.246 to the Dodgers’ .257) and 16th in OPS (.718 to the Dodgers’ .762).
Another key difference between the clubs: The Dodgers showed better plate discipline.
asserted
Dodgers → finish → discipline
They posted the league’s third-highest walk rate and on-base percentage (10.1% and .338, respectively) while the Braves had the third-lowest marks in each category (7.7% and .309).
asserted
Braves → post → category
The Braves still boast big stars.
asserted
Braves → boast → stars
First baseman Matt Olson led the team with 41 home runs and a .823 OPS.
asserted
Olson → lead → runs
Catcher/designated hitter Drake Baldwin had a breakout campaign with 25 home runs and a .817 OPS.
asserted
Baldwin → have → runs
Michael Harris II paced the club with a .294 average to go along with 26 long balls.
asserted
II → pace → balls
Even a relatively down (and injury-plagued) season from former MVP outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. still saw him record a .796 OPS.
asserted
him → plague → OPS
Those were their only four regulars, however, to post at least league-average production, according to OPS+.
uncertain
Those → post → OPS+
The Dodgers nearly doubled that total with seven, between Shohei Ohtani, Max Muncy, Andy Pages, Freddie Freeman, Will Smith, Mookie Betts and Teoscar Hernández.
asserted
Dodgers → double → Ohtani
And that doesn’t even include the strides Kyle Tucker made late in the year, giving the Dodgers a deeper and more difficult lineup to navigate.
asserted
Tucker → include → lineup
Edge: Dodgers
Power
This is one area where the Braves matched the Dodgers offensively, with both teams finishing the year in the Top 10 of the majors in home runs with 204 each.
asserted
teams → match → 204
During their second-half slump, they hit just 86 home runs in their final 76 games, ranking 18th in the majors in long balls and 14th in slugging percentage during that stretch.
asserted
they → hit → stretch
Much of that decline was caused by Ohtani and Freeman’s injury-hampered form.
asserted
Much → cause → Ohtani
Ohtani hit just eight home runs in his final 47 games, and none after Aug. 18 (at which point his right arm and left knee injuries grew noticeably worse).
asserted
injuries → hit → Aug.
Freeman had just one in 66 games after July 4 (caused in part by a right knee problem that got his swing out of whack).
asserted
swing → have → whack
Thus, the Braves entered the playoffs possessing more of a power presence, with five players coming off 20-homer campaigns: Olson, Harris, Baldwin, Acuña and Ozzie Albies.
asserted
Braves → enter → campaigns
Third baseman Austin Riley, who hit 19 homers in what was an otherwise disappointing regular season, also offered a reminder of his pop this week, when he hit a game-winning three-run bomb in Game 1 of their wild-card series defeat of the Phillies.
asserted
he → hit → Phillies
On the mound
Rotation
No one will be able to match the star power of the Dodgers’ starting pitching group, which is headlined by four ace-level arms: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (14-9, 2.53 ERA this year), Tarik Skubal (12-7, 2.72 ERA), Blake Snell (4-1, 1.90 ERA) and Tyler Glasnow (5-2, 3.53 ERA).
asserted
which → match → arms
Last year, the Dodgers’ rotation carried them to a World Series title.
asserted
rotation → carry → title
And though Ohtani won’t be pitching because of his injuries, the deadline addition of Skubal has more than compensated.
asserted
addition → pitch → Skubal
That said, there are few pitchers more feared in the playoffs than Braves ace Chris Sale.
asserted
That → say → Sale
He went 14-9 with a 2.16 ERA this season, pitched a five-hit shutout against the Dodgers in August, and struck out nine batters during a 6 ⅓-inning, three-run start against the Phillies in the wild-card round.
asserted
He → go → round
And beyond him, Atlanta has struggled to find another impact arm, relying heavily on their own deadline acquisition Tyler Mahle (who spun a seven-inning, one-run gem in the wild-card round).
asserted
who → struggle → round
It set a franchise record with a 38-inning scoreless streak in May.
uncertain
It → set → May
It posted a 4.95 ERA over the next two months, eighth-worst in the majors in that stretch.
asserted
It → post → stretch
Then, it finished the year with a 3.20 mark in August and September, combining for the most wins above replacement (according to Fangraphs) over that period.
uncertain
it → finish → period
That late-season surge puts the relief corps in a seemingly strong spot now.
asserted
surge → put → spot
Evan Phillips, Brock Stewart and Alex Vesia are prime setup men, with Vesia offering a left-handed option.
asserted
Vesia → offer → option
…and 20 more, not listed.
The Aporia
