After at least 162 hard fought games, the Dodgers and Braves face off in a best-of-five NLDS to open the MLB playoffs, beginning on Thursday.
If you asked me at the beginning of the season which NL East team the Dodgers would be playing in the NLDS, I would say the Washington Nationals. That’s not to knock the Braves’ talent, but if I had to choose between a team with Bryce Harper or one without him, I would choose Harper any day of the week to make the MLB playoffs.
That said, the Atlanta Braves went on a tear that they were due to go on for a while. Mike Foltynewicz is the ace they need, and a pair of young stars in Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuña Jr has changed the direction of baseball in Atlanta.
For much of the season, it looked like the Phillies and Braves were going to be like the Dodgers and Rockies, neck and neck until the end, but the Phillies’ success was unsustainable and the Braves ended the season as the winners of the NL East for the first time in five years.
There’s is no doubt that the Braves deserve to be here.
The Dodgers have been here before, five times before, in fact. They won the first of their six consecutive division titles the same year Atlanta won their last title. They’ve seen two managers, changes in the front office, and an entire rebuild of a once average farm system. They’ve cultivated stars like Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger, and Walker Buehler. They’ve let go of potential all-stars to add players like Manny Machado and Rich Hill to their roster. They’ve cultivated a new age of baseball in Los Angeles.
There is no doubt that the Dodgers deserve to be here.
Now, the two elite squads meet up in October for the first time in half a decade. Let’s take a look at what’s ahead.