The Los Angeles Dodgers won a Game 163 Monday at home vs. the Colorado Rockies to win the NL West and avoid Tuesday’s wild-card game. L.A’s reward is to open Game 1 of the ALDS on Thursday against the NL East champion Atlanta Braves. Behind their ace, the Dodgers are sizable MLB Betting favorites.
How to Bet Braves at Dodgers NLDS Game 1 Lines & Game Preview
Whole squad ready. #ForEachOther pic.twitter.com/UzyvdjNkgC
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) 2 de octubre de 2018
- When: Thursday, 8:37 PM ET
- Where: Dodger Stadium
- Probable pitchers (away/home): Mike Foltynewicz/Clayton Kershaw
- TV: MLB Network
- Live Stream: MLB.tv
- Radio: TuneIn
- NLDS Game 1 Lines: Los Angeles Dodgers -190 / Atlanta Braves +170 (Total 6.5)
Indians vs Astros ALDS Game 1 Odds & Expert Pick
Weather Forecast
- Clear: 21°C/70°F
- Humidity: 72%
- Precipitation: 1%
- Cloud Cover: 13%
- Wind: 9 mph WSW
- Stadium Type: Open
Season Series
The Dodgers won the season series against the Braves, 4-2, and outscored Atlanta by a 35-18 margin. This will be the third postseason meeting between these clubs and first since 2013 — the beginning of Los Angeles’ six-year division-title streak and Atlanta’s last playoff appearance.
Why Bet on Atlanta?
Needing at least a win to have a shot at the home field advantage in the NLDS, the Braves lost to the Philadelphia Phillies 3-1 Sunday. The Braves needed a win and a loss by both Colorado and Los Angeles to secure home-field advantage in the division series. Both the Rockies and Dodgers won regardless.
After battling the Phillies for first place in the NL East most of the season, Atlanta pulled ahead on Aug. 12 and never trailed again. The Braves clinched the division on Sept. 22 and have not played a meaningful game since. Alex Anthopoulos became the Braves’ general manager in November of 2017. For nearly two years prior, he was the Dodgers’ vice president of baseball operations. So if anyone knows how to scout L.A. it’s him.
The Braves have the likely NL Rookie of the Year in outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. He slashed .293/.366/.552 this year at age 20. Acuna added 26 homers and 64 RBIs in just 111 games with 16 steals. Acuna was the first rookie to lead Braves outright in home runs since 1943 when Chuck Workman hit 10 for the Boston Braves.
First baseman Freddie Freeman led the NL with 191 hits and finished second overall in the majors by just one to Kansas City’s Whit Merrifield. The last Braves player to lead the National League in hits was Terry Pendleton, who had 199 in 1992 to tie Pittsburgh’s Andy Van Slyke for the most in the league. The last Braves player to lead outright was Pendleton (187) in 1991.
Freeman, Ozzie Albies and Nick Markakis all had at least 40 doubles. This is the first time in franchise history the Braves have had three players reach that mark in a single season. The team only had two players reach 40 doubles in a season once before. Jeff Francoeur (40) and Chipper Jones (42) accomplished the feat in 2007.
It’s All-Star Mike Foltynewicz (13-10, 2.85) in Game 1. Foltynewicz picked up a win against the Phillies on Friday. He went five innings and allowed one run on only one hit while striking out nine. Foltynewicz capped his breakout season by striking out nine Phillies, breaking the 200 strikeout plateau for the first time at 202. It will be his first postseason appearance and his third time facing the Dodgers. He allowed seven earned runs in 11 1/3 innings (5.56 ERA) in the previous two outings.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 4.69
- Hits: 8.84
- Walks: 3.15
- Strike Outs: 7.96
- Runs: 4.06
- Hits: 7.64
- Walks: 3.92
- Strike Outs: 8.78
Why Bet on LA Dodgers?
The Dodgers took the NL West tiebreaker game Monday, 5-2 over Colorado, getting another excellent outing by young pitcher Walker Buehler and a couple of two-run homers from Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger to capture their 92nd win in Game 163. After failing to make the Opening Day roster as a non-roster invitee, Muncy finished the regular season with 35 home runs and a .973 OPS. Bellinger finished the regular season with 25 home runs and 76 RBI.
The Dodgers — 16-26 on May 16 — are only the sixth team in history to win the division in the same season that saw it fall 10 games below .500. By winning Monday, the Dodgers assured themselves of a sixth straight National League West title. The last MLB team with a streak that long was the New York Yankees from 1998-2006.
The extra days off will allow Dave Roberts to reset his starting rotation. The Dodgers’ 3.21 earned-run average paced the NL during the regular season. The Braves ranked second at 3.50. Clayton Kershaw has started Game 1 or 2 of every Dodgers postseason series since the 2008 NL Championship Series, and that will not change this week. He’s expected for the opener.
Kershaw (9-5, 2.73) struck out four and allowed five runs and eight hits and zero walks over five innings in a no-decision against the Giants on Saturday. Kershaw was unable to hold 2-0 and 5-3 leads as the Dodgers attempted to secure a playoff berth. It’s the first time in 2018 Kershaw allowed more than four runs in a start. The veteran left-hander finished the regular season with a 1.04 WHIP and 155:29 K: BB over 161.1 innings.
Had the Dodgers lost Monday, Kershaw might have been used in the Wild-Card Game. Overall in the postseason, he is 7-7 with a 4.35 ERA. In eight postseason appearances on short rest (five starts, three relief) he is 2-1 with one save, a 2.39 ERA, 45 strikeouts and 10 walks in 37 2/3 innings. With an opt-out in his contract, Kershaw’s next start could be his last one for the Dodgers.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 4.93
- Hits: 8.56
- Walks: 3.97
- Strike Outs: 8.81
- Runs: 3.74
- Hits: 7.84
- Walks: 2.59
- Strike Outs: 9.60
Braves at Dodgers NLDS Game 1 Betting Trends
- LA Dodgers are 8-12 against the money line at home when the total is 7 or less this season
- Atlanta is 59-49 against the money line in night games this season
- LA Dodgers are 5-2 against Atlanta this season
- 4 of 7 games in this series have gone Over the Total this season
- Foltynewicz is 1-1 when starting against LA Dodgers with an ERA of 5.56 and a WHIP of 1.500
- Ryu is 0-1 when starting against Atlanta with an ERA of 4.22 and a WHIP of 1.500
Expert MLB Playoffs Prediction for Braves at DOdgers
This total will likely be 6.5 – go under and the Dodgers.
