LOS ANGELES - The Braves are heading into the NLDS with a rotation held together by improvisation, while the Dodgers arrive with the luxury of choosing from a deep, rested staff.
That contrast could shape the first stretch of this best-of-five series. Atlanta spent the week grinding through the Phillies in the NL Wild Card Series. Los Angeles, meanwhile, sat back and kept its top starters fresh.
For the Braves, Game 1 already looks like a patchwork plan. Ray Kerr won’t be available to reprise the role he played in Thursday’s winner-take-all win over Philadelphia, so Atlanta could turn to another left-handed opener, perhaps Brent Suter, before handing things over to Grant Holmes for a few innings. Holmes threw only 28 pitches over two innings on Thursday, which gives the Braves some flexibility if they want to stretch him a bit.
Chris Sale is also in the mix for Atlanta, and his name naturally comes up because of how the Braves used him in the wild card round. Before Sale came out of the bullpen to get the final four outs of Thursday’s win, there was at least some question about whether he would be pushed into Game 2 of this series instead.
He started Game 1 of the NL WC Series just four days earlier, and the last time he started on four days’ rest was in April. Even so, the 37-year-old left-hander looks like the most logical option if Atlanta wants to get four solid innings from him.
Starting him here would also keep him lined up for a possible Game 5 on regular rest.
The Braves’ other likely early option is Tyler Mahle, whose status was still viewed with confidence by manager Walt Weiss on Friday despite a tweak in his abdomen just before his seven-inning outing against the Phillies on Wednesday. In his first career postseason start, Mahle allowed six hits, walked one, struck out six and limited Philadelphia to one run.
The Dodgers, by contrast, had the freedom to pick from a loaded rotation and chose Tarik Skubal for Game 1 instead of Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Los Angeles views its postseason group as having four No. 1 starters, and Skubal’s comfort pitching on four days’ rest was a major factor in the call, according to manager Dave Roberts. The decision was made with more than just the NLDS in mind, too, with an eye toward how things might line up in the NLCS if the Dodgers advance.
Game 2 hasn’t been officially announced, but Blake Snell appears likely to get the ball after Yamamoto worked in a simulated game on Wednesday. Snell also helped ease any concerns about the left groin tightness that forced him out after one inning in his penultimate start, because he finished the regular season with a start in San Francisco.
That pairing of Skubal and Snell in the first two games would also play into the matchup. Atlanta was noticeably less effective against left-handed pitching in the regular season, posting a .696 OPS against southpaws compared with a .730 OPS against right-handers.
If the series gets to Game 3, Yamamoto is the likely choice. Because he has never started on fewer than five days’ rest, the Dodgers may only be able to use him once in the NLDS if they hold him back from Game 1.
Still, he has handled short rest before, pitching in relief in last year’s World Series and closing out Game 7 the day after starting Game 6. This season, Yamamoto was sharper on the road, where he posted a 1.77 ERA, than at home, where he had a 3.13 ERA.
In Other News...
Braves Fans Had To Love How Fast This Phillies Jinx Backfired
The broadcast booth did Atlanta a favor in Game 3 of the National League wild-card series, even if not by design. Joey Votto, in his first season as an in-game analyst after a long run as a player, suggested the Braves would not score again, only for Atlanta to answer with two runs later in the inning and turn the prediction into instant bulletin-board material.
For Braves fans, it was the kind of jinx that aged badly almost immediately and made for a small but satisfying subplot in a tense postseason game. Vottos stint in the role is limited to the wild-card round, since NBC does not have rights beyond that stage, so the misfire came in a brief audition that the Braves and their supporters will remember for the wrong reason. [Read more 🡒]
Braves May Have Created A Huge Chris Sale Problem Before Dodgers Series
Chris Sale gave the Braves exactly the kind of punch they needed in Game 3, even if it came in an unusual spot. After being lined up to start Game 2 and having already thrown 95 pitches two days earlier, Sale volunteered to come out of the bullpen and delivered 1 sharp innings in relief, striking out Bryce Harper and Otto Lopez as Atlanta grabbed the postseason win over the Phillies.
The immediate reward was obvious, but the longer-term cost is now part of the conversation as the Division Series shifts to the Dodgers. Walt Weiss said Sale stepped up when the Braves needed him, and that kind of flexibility matters in October, yet it also raises a real question about what he has left if Atlanta needs him again soon in a much bigger series. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Catch A Huge NLDS Break As Braves Rotation Thins
The Braves pitching plan took a hit before the National League Division Series even got underway, with Martn Prez landing on the 15-day injured list because of lower back inflammation. Manager Walt Weiss said Prez will not be available against the Dodgers, though there is still a chance he could return if Atlanta keeps moving into the NLCS. For a rotation already needing to cover a lot of ground in October, losing a veteran arm at this stage changes the shape of the series.
Atlanta will have to piece together innings with other options, including AJ Smith-Shawver and JR Ritchie, and that puts even more pressure on a staff trying to navigate one of the postseasons toughest lineups. The Dodgers were already a demanding matchup, and now the Braves have to find a way through it without one of the pitchers they were counting on to help steady the middle of games. [Read more 🡒]