Article courtesy OddsShark (@OddsShark)
For the fourth time in five years, the Los Angeles Dodgers are in the National League Championship Series going for their third World Series appearance since they won it all in 1988. The Dodgers are listed as consensus -230 favorites on the series prices at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com against the Atlanta Braves, who are +190 underdogs and trying to get back to the World Series for the first time since 1999.
Game 1 is scheduled for Monday night, with Los Angeles sending Walker Buehler (1-0, 3.44 ERA) to the hill opposite Atlanta’s Max Fried (7-0, 2.25 ERA). The Dodgers are -145 betting favorites at online betting sites for Game 1.
While Buehler got the call for Game 1, he has not been counted on to pitch a lot of innings this postseason. In two starts, the 26-year-old righty has not gone more than four innings, but he has still managed to strike out eight batters in each of them, with his teammates outscoring the opposition by a 9-3 margin.
In fact, the Dodgers have lost in only one of Buehler’s appearances this year, and that came back on August 3.
Fried has had similar results for the Braves, who have also lost just once with him on the mound (September 5). The 26-year-old lefty has pitched 11 innings over two playoff starts, allowing a total of four runs with no walks and nine strikeouts.
Game 2 on Tuesday should have another outstanding pitching matchup between Los Angeles ace Clayton Kershaw (6-2, 2.16 ERA) and Atlanta’s Ian Anderson (3-2, 1.95 ERA). Kershaw has had one great outing and another shaky one this postseason as he tries to erase his poor playoff reputation.
Last time out the 32-year-old southpaw surrendered two home runs in an eventual 6-5 win over the San Diego Padres. Meanwhile, Anderson has pitched 11.2 scoreless innings over his two postseason starts, scattering five hits with three walks and 17 strikeouts.
After Game 2, it will be interesting to see who toes the rubber for each side in what could be a long series. Kyle Wright (2-4, 5.21 ERA) is tentatively set to go in Game 3 for the Braves, and he pitched six scoreless innings in a 7-0 win over the Miami Marlins in the clincher of the NL Division Series last Thursday.
The Dodgers could counter with either Dustin May (3-1, 2.57 ERA) or Julio Urias (3-0, 3.27 ERA) and save the other one for Game 4 depending on the bullpen situation.
Offensively, these are also two of the best power-hitting teams in baseball. Los Angeles led MLB with 118 home runs during the regular season, and Atlanta was the only other team to hit more than 100 with 103.
The Dodgers scored the most runs as well with 349, one more than the Braves, who had a higher team batting average (.268) by 12 points. Historically speaking, Los Angeles has gone 21-9 in the past 30 meetings with Atlanta, according to the OddsShark MLB Database. However, the Braves have won the last two following a five-game series skid.
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