The Giants are watching October from home again, which leaves the usual fallback plan: root for the Dodgers to get knocked out. That mission has come up empty the last two years, but this time there’s at least a reason to believe Atlanta could be the team that does it.
The Braves open their NL Wild Card series against the Phillies today, and their roster includes four former Giants: Mauricio Dubon, Dominic Smith, Mike Yastrzemski, and Tyler Mahle. Mahle is set to start Game 2, a sign of how well he’s pitched since San Francisco sent him to Atlanta at the trade deadline in exchange for Anthony Molina.
Mahle has been sharp in Atlanta. He posted a 1.99 ERA over nine starts, struck out 48 batters in 54 and 1/3 innings, walked only nine, and finished with a WHIP under 1.00. The Braves also altered his pitch usage, pushing him toward his splitter and away from his cutter, and the move paid off.
That kind of success naturally invites questions about what San Francisco’s staff could have gotten out of him. More immediately, it gives Atlanta another arm capable of causing problems if the Braves get through Philadelphia and into a matchup with Los Angeles.
That’s the path here: the winner of Braves-Phillies meets the Dodgers, who will be rested and bring plenty of firepower. Blake Snell already pitched for Los Angeles in the final series of the year against the Giants, so the Dodgers will not be short on readiness.
Still, they’re not untouchable. The Padres had them down 2-1 in the 2024 NLDS before letting it slip away, and the Blue Jays came close to beating them in last year’s World Series if a few breaks had gone the other way. Los Angeles does not simply steamroll everyone on its way to a title.
That’s why Atlanta feels like such a tempting pick for Giants fans hoping to see the Dodgers’ three-peat dreams end. Dubon, Smith, and Yastrzemski all know Dodger Stadium well, and the rest of the Braves’ veteran-heavy roster shouldn’t be intimidated by the defending champs. Smith, especially, has already shown he’s willing to pay a price in this rivalry after sacrificing his hamstring for the Giants-Dodgers fight last year.
There’s also the Shohei Ohtani factor. He is still dealing with a knee injury, is not expected to pitch in the playoffs, and if he’s not at full strength, that only helps Atlanta’s chances.
In the best-case version of this October, Yastrzemski delivers the kind of swing Giants fans can dream on - a go-ahead or walk-off homer that sends the Dodgers home. For a fan base stuck licking its wounds after a rough regular season, that’s the kind of outcome worth cheering for.
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