Game: Atlanta Braves at Los Angeles Dodgers
Time: 5:08 PM ET
Starting Pitchers: Charlie Morton vs. Walker Buehler
Odds: Braves +165, Dodgers -169
The Atlanta Braves take a 2-0 lead in the NLCS to Los Angeles to face the Dodgers today at Dodger Stadium. LA is hopeful the change of venue will help the Dodgers right the ship in this series. Los Angeles is 19-1 in its last 20 games at Dodger Stadium. The Boys in Blue will also have Walker Buehler on the mound.
Buehler is 16-5 this season with a 2.51 ERA. He did lose Game 1 of the NLDS to San Francisco, but Buehler came back to help the Dodgers win Game 4. This will be his first appearance in the NLCS and his second against the Braves this season. Buehler faced Atlanta on August 31. He pitched seven innings, allowed four hits and gave up two earned runs. The Dodgers won the game 3-2.
The Braves have been outstanding in the postseason. Eddie Rosario has nine hits and is batting .409. Austin Riley has two home runs and is hitting .364 and Joc Pederson has three homers, seven RBIs, and is batting .357. Atlanta hasn’t lost a game in the playoffs since losing Game 1 of the NLDS to Milwaukee.
Atlanta will start Charlie Morton who pitched the final and deciding Game 4 in the NLDS. Morton pitched 3.1 innings for the Braves in a 5-4 victory over Milwaukee as the Braves advanced to a second straight pennant series.
Morton faced the Dodgers twice this season. Back in June, he pitched five innings and gave up two earned runs in a 6-4 Braves victory. On Aug. 31, Morton pitched opposite Buehler going six innings and allowing just one earned run. The Braves, of course, lost that game, but Morton has been pitching extremely well as of late. In his last four starts – which include the two playoff starts against Milwaukee – Morton has given up just four earned runs.
The Braves have now won five straight games and seven of their last eight. Five of those eight games, including the last three straight, have been one-run games. The Dodgers have actually lost three of their last five games. Four of those five games have been decided by a single run.
It makes sense then that both teams are trending toward the Under. Three of the Dodgers past five games have seen the total go Under. For Atlanta, the total has gone Under in five of its last seven games. The Under is also 4-1 in the Braves last five games on the road and the Under is a perfect 5-0 in the last five games Atlanta has played against the Dodgers. The Under has also cashed in three of Morton’s last four starts.
The total for tonight’s game is 7.5. Both bullpens will play a key role in the game’s outcome as well as the game total. The Dodgers bullpen sports an impressive 2.21 ERA, but that isn’t the best this postseason. That honor belongs to the Braves whose bullpen has a 1.52 ERA.