The Atlanta Braves saw off a stiff challenge from the Phillies in the Wild Card, setting up another postseason clash with the Los Angeles Dodgers in a best-of-five NLDS clash. The winner will move advance to face the winner of San Diego vs Milwaukee in the 2026 NLCS.

The Dodgers enter the National League Division Series as heavy favorites at 68¢ (-213) on at Kalshi, while the Braves sit as live underdogs at 33¢ (+203) .

During the regular season, the 100-win Dodgers (100–62, +201 run differential) earned a bye to the divisional round largely thanks to an offense that scored 801 runs (4.94 R/G) and a pitching staff that surrendered just 3.70 runs per game. Meanwhile, Atlanta went 94–68 with a +116 run differential, relying on a balanced roster that scored 742 runs while holding opponents to 3.86 per contest.

Despite Los Angeles holding the superior overall record and home-field advantage (51–30 at Dodger Stadium), Atlanta dominated the regular-season head-to-head matchup, taking 5 of the 6 meetings and outscoring the Dodgers 26–15 across two three-game sets in May and August.

The series opens in Los Angeles before shifting to Atlanta for the middle games:

Los Angeles enters the series with a massive rest and rotation advantage. The Dodgers can roll out an elite starting staff featuring Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2.53 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 182 K in 185.0 IP), Blake Snell (1.90 ERA, 11.60 K/9), and Tarik Skubal (2.61 ERA, 1.05 WHIP), alongside Shohei Ohtani (1.79 ERA in 14 starts). This gives manager Dave Roberts a fully fresh, high-strikeout rotation capable of neutralizing Atlanta’s top bats.

Atlanta’s rotation is headlined by ace Chris Sale (2.16 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 200 K), but Sale’s availability to start Game 1 on full rest was altered after he threw 1.1 relief innings (3 Ks on 0 days rest) to secure Atlanta’s 6–2 Game 3 victory over Philadelphia on October 1. Tyler Mahle (1.99 ERA, 0.96 WHIP in 9 regular-season starts; 7.0 IP, 1 ER in Wild Card Game 2) and veterans Martín Pérez (3.12 ERA) and Grant Holmes (3.57 ERA) provide solid depth, but the Braves’ pitching staff will have significantly less rest between rounds.

Offensively, both lineups are loaded with power. The Dodgers’ order features Shohei Ohtani (30 HR, .512 SLG), Max Muncy (29 HR), Mookie Betts (23 HR), Andy Pages (23 HR), and Freddie Freeman (.288 AVG, 167 H). Atlanta counters with 41-home-run slugger Matt Olson, Michael Harris II (.294 AVG, 26 HR), Drake Baldwin (25 HR), Ozzie Albies (22 HR), and Ronald Acuña Jr. (20 HR).