The Dodgers and Braves have set their NLDS rosters, and both clubs made the kind of October moves that tell you exactly how they expect this series to unfold: plenty of pitching, a few selective bats, and almost no room for comfort.
Los Angeles opens the Division Series at home against Atlanta, with the Dodgers sending Tarik Skubal to the mound in Game 1. The Braves will counter with Dylan Dodd as the opener, according to MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, in what’s expected to be a bullpen game.
Atlanta’s roster shifts are built around one thing: surviving a series that could chew through arms fast. The Braves replaced three players from the group they used in their NL Wild Card Series win over the Phillies.
Right-handers AJ Smith-Shawver and JR Ritchie are in, along with outfielder Lane Thomas. They take the places of Dominic Smith, DaShawn Keirsey Jr., and Luke Williams, giving Atlanta 13 pitchers for the matchup with Los Angeles.
That extra pitching depth makes sense after the Braves leaned on everyone in the deciding Game 3 against Philadelphia. Chris Sale, who would have presumably started this game, came out of the bullpen to finish Thursday’s win, and Atlanta is clearly prepared to keep piecing things together against the Dodgers’ lineup.
Thomas gives the Braves a more versatile right-handed bat than Williams, and he should be in play as a pinch-hit option or even a starter against lefties like Skubal or Blake Snell, who is lined up for Game 2. Smith and Keirsey, both left-handed hitters, would have been redundant against a Dodgers staff built around southpaws. Thomas has been on the 10-day injured list since September 8 with a strained intercostal muscle.
The Dodgers also made some choices that reflect October priorities. Edgardo Henriquez is back from the 15-day injured list after missing time with lower back discomfort since September 13, and he joins Edwin Diaz and Kris Bubic in the bullpen. That means Los Angeles is leaning on experience, even if the results haven’t always been pretty.
Diaz has had a rough first run in Dodger Blue, with injuries and an 8.68 ERA over 18 2/3 innings, but he has looked sharper lately, throwing five scoreless innings across his last five appearances. Bubic has also been scoreless over his last five outings, which also mark his first five games in an L.A. uniform after being acquired from the Royals at the trade deadline.
With that much pitching available, somebody was always going to get squeezed. The Dodgers went with Diaz and Bubic over some more reliable health-and-production profiles, and the most notable names left off appear to be Justin Wrobleski, a playoff hero in 2025, and Jack Dreyer.
On the position-player side, the Dodgers kept Josue De Paula and Hyeseong Kim on the bench while leaving Alex Call and Dalton Rushing off the roster. De Paula and Rushing were both mostly bat-only options, and Los Angeles chose De Paula over Rushing, who has dealt with injuries for the past two months. Kim hasn’t appeared in a big league game since May 27, but he’s back from Triple-A and figures to be used as a pinch runner.
There is still a chance Blake Treinen could enter the picture later in October if the Dodgers keep moving. A shoulder issue sent him to the 15-day injured list last week and seemed to end his season, but president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told Newsweek’s J.P. Hoornstra and other reporters that Treinen is not dealing with a structural problem, leaving the door open for a possible return deeper in the playoffs.
In Other News...
Braves Face A Massive Game 2 Decision After NLDS Opener
The Braves opened their NLDS against the Dodgers with a 5-3 loss, and the postgame discussion quickly turned from the scoreboard to how Atlanta manages what comes next. Walt Weiss spent much of his time talking through bullpen usage and the way the game unfolded, while also noting how difficult Los Angeles made things on offense with Tarik Skubal on the mound.
Now the attention shifts to Game 2, where Atlanta is staring at a significant pitching question with Chris Sales availability still unsettled. The Braves will need a sharper offensive night after struggling in the opener, but the bigger issue may be how Weiss pieces together the pitching plan if Sale is not available. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Fans Have Every Right To Question This October Pitching Call
Atlantas postseason pitching choices are under the microscope after Brian Snitker said the bullpen had been emptied in the previous game and that some arms were unavailable because of injury. The manager pointed to the idea of getting the relief group rested for the next night, which helps explain the roster management behind the move, but it does not make the decision feel any less consequential in the middle of October.
Chris Sale being available only sharpens the debate, because this was the kind of game where the Braves had every reason to lean on their best options rather than sort through lower-tier arms. Instead, they went in a direction that left plenty of room for second-guessing, and for a fan base used to thinking big in the postseason, that is exactly the kind of call that sticks. [Read more 🡒]
Braves Already Face A Bigger NLDS Problem Than The Game 1 Loss
The Braves left Dodger Stadium with a Game 1 loss, but the score may not have been the most concerning part of the night. Los Angeles got six innings of one-run ball from Tarik Skubal and three home runs from Teoscar Hernndez, Kyle Tucker and Max Muncy in a 5-3 win, all of it unfolding in near-record heat that made for a grinding October opener.
Sunday evening brings Game 2, and Atlanta now has to answer more than just the immediate damage on the scoreboard. The bigger concern is whether the Braves can settle in quickly enough against a Dodgers team that already looked comfortable, while also coping with conditions that made every inning feel heavier than usual. [Read more 🡒]