MLB playoffs: Previewing the Dodgers/Braves NLDS

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.

GAME 1 STARTING PITCHING MATCHUP: HYUN-JIN RYU VS.  MIKE FOLTYNEWICZ

Let’s start with the obvious; Clayton Kershaw is not the Dodgers’ game one starter. Game 1 has had Kershaw’s name on it for the past five years, why not carry on the tradition? It was known from the start that Kersh and Ryu would be starting the first two games of the division series at home. In the end, Roberts tabbed Ryu for the series’ first game, bumping his ace to number two. That doesn’t say anything about Kershaw’s ability on the mound (is his talent ever really in question?) it just means that Roberts has enough faith in Ryu to give him the ball in this scenario.

There’s really not much of a difference at all. By sending Ryu to the mound on Thursday, he and Kershaw will both be pitching on 6 days rest. That, and the fact that Ryu has pitched incredibly well at Dodgers Stadium this season (to the tune of a 1.15 ERA) so bumping him to the third spot in the rotation, and sending Walker Buehler to the mound in Game 2 would be nonsensical.

Ryu and then Kershaw gives the Dodgers the best chance of arriving in Atlanta with a 2-0 series lead with Walker Buehler or Rich Hill headed to the mound.

Can anything stand in the way of the Dodgers?

Well, yes. In Game One, that roadblock will be Mike Foltynewicz, who has been tremendous this season for the Braves. In 183 innings, he’s struck out 202 batters and enters the postseason with a 2.85 ERA. The 26-year-old righty pitched two complete games this season, a rarity in baseball these days, with one of them being a shutout. Foltynewicz is capable of going the distance for Atlanta and has a fastball that could stun Dodger hitters.

The Braves haven’t announced their game two starter, but it’s likely to be right-hander Aníbal Sánchez, who has a 1-1 record against the Dodgers in 2018.

This series won’t be won, on either side, solely by elite pitching. Let’s take a look at who will be stepping up to the plate.

Pitchers, beware of the sluggers in Southern California and Northern Georgia.

Both of these squads have been absolutely raking all season long. The Dodgers led the National League in home runs (235) while the Braves had the second most hits in the NL (1433). The Braves led the league in slugging percentage, while the Dodgers came in fifth.

Freddie Freeman hit 23 home runs but boasts a .309 batting average. He was hit by almost as many pitches (7) as double plays he grounded into (11), and he was intentionally walked more than either (12). Being intentionally walked usually means one of two things; 1) you’re hitting in the 8th hole, there are two outs, there’s only one man on base, and the pitcher batting behind you has a .045 average or 2) they just don’t want to face you because chances are, you’ll do some damage.

The latter describes Freeman. It also describes most of the Braves lineup. You can’t intentionally walk everyone.

Then there’s the Dodgers, a team that hit more home runs than any squad this season except the New York Yankees. They’re a team lead by Max Muncy, Matt Kemp, Cody Bellinger, Justin Turner, and Manny Machado. Three of those players are guys that few expected to see in Dodger blue this season.

Muncy, who was released by Oakland in early 2017, signed with the Dodgers about a month after. He played on the team’s triple-A squad for the remainder of the season and was predicted to be there again this year. He was called up mid-April because of an injury to former Dodger, Logan Forsythe. Since then, he’s taken the National League by storm, slugging his way to the 2018 Home Run Derby and, eventually, 35 home runs in 395 at-bats.

Freeman and Muncy are the guys to watch in this series. They’ve been terrific both offensively and defensively all season long. This series is going to be a battle of two seriously strong offenses, and it’ll be up to the pitching to decide who emerges the victor.