It’s a rematch of last year’s NLCS between the Dodgers and the Braves.
The Dodgers won a thriller last night in Game 5 of the NLDS to eliminate the Giants and advance. The Braves took out the Brewers in four games.
And so, the stage is set. The series will start tomorrow night in Atlanta at 8 eastern, and will air on TBS.
We’ll continue our trend of previewing each series and identifying strengths and weaknesses of each club and how they’ll affect the series, while making a case for each team to win.
The Case For The Braves
You can bet that they’re hungry after blowing a 3-1 lead to the Dodgers in last year’s NLCS.
They’ll have Max Fried on the bump for the opener, who’s been their horse the past two years. They’ll also be at home to start, so that’s an advantage.
It seems that they’ve weathered the storm quite nicely in the absence of Marcell Ozuna and Ronald Acuna Jr., and we all thought they were done after that. Not so fast.
Adam Duvall, Jorge Soler, and Eddie Rosario have made us all forget that they were missing. The offense is one of the best in the league. But they’ve also got three solid starters in Fried, Charlie Morton, and Ian Anderson, all of whom have built solid postseason resumes to date.
The Braves will be heavy underdogs, but anyone who crosses paths with the Dodgers will.
The Case For The Dodgers
They just beat the team with the best record in baseball. The score is settled between them and the Giants. They’ve proven that they’re still the best team in all of baseball and that defeating them is no easy task.
They know they can beat the Braves and have so many different options at their disposal, even without Max Muncy. Cody Bellinger got the game-winning hit last night, seemingly putting to rest all of his struggles during the regular season. They’ve got Max Scherzer, Walker Buehler, and Julio Urias in that rotation, and their bullpen is scary. If necessary, they can run the table on you with a bullpen game while keeping their starters rested.
With their interchangeable parts, they can beat anybody. They’re hungry and hell bent on another ring.
Conclusion
This LCS isn’t as one-sided as people may think. The Dodgers will be favored, but it’ll be a fun series. Don’t be surprised if we go a full seven games again.
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