Atlanta Braves vs Los Angeles Dodgers: Preview, Odds, and Prediction

Atlanta Braves vs Los Angeles Dodgers Best Bet: Does Kershaw have another great outing in front of him?

Tonight, the Los Angeles Dodgers will host the Atlanta Braves in an National League Championship Series rematch. This is a matchup baseball fans have circled since the schedule came out due to the amount of talent both teams have in their arsenal. The Dodgers are coming off a series sweep of the Cincinnati Reds and have covered the spread in five straight games. The Atlanta Braves have struggled a bit to get things going offensively, where they have failed to score more than five runs in nine of their 11 games to start the year.

"@FreddieFreeman5 talks with @kirsten_watson about his four-hit day and Andrew Heaney's stellar six innings, along with his thoughts on welcoming the Braves to town starting tomorrow." - @ SportsNet LA

The pitching matchup tonight is a good one. We will get to see one of the best pitchers of all time, Clayton Kershaw, take the ball against a young, talented Huascar Ynoa.

Match Details

Fixture: Atlanta Braves vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

Date & Time: Monday, April 18, 10:10 p.m. EDT

Venue: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles Dodgers Preview:

The Los Angeles Dodgers have an abundance of talent on their roster. The big market Dodgers love to spend money, and that is something they do quite well. When everybody thought it was going to be hard for them to get better than they were just a few years ago, they did just that. The Dodgers have three former MVPs on their roster, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Cody Bellinger. This offense ranks in the top five in important categories, such as batting average, hits, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. To keep things short and simple, the Los Angeles Dodgers can tear the cover off the ball.

"'This was the right choice.' Clayton Kershaw struck out 13 batters, baffled the Twins with his slider and fired seven perfect innings on 80 pitches in his 2022 debut to cap the road trip. He also understood why his day ended there." - @ Dodger Insider

What goes unnoticed and unappreciated is the fact that the Dodgers defense ranks second in the MLB in defensive runs saved. The Dodgers are an elite team on both sides of the ball. With veteran Clayton Kershaw coming off seven perfect innings in his first start, the Dodgers have a lot going for them tonight.

Atlanta Braves Preview:

The defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves find themselves in a bit of a rough patch to start the year. While the offense has been hit or miss, the defense has been a huge miss to start the season. Bench coach Ron Washington has been known as one of the best infield coaches in the MLB for years, but that hasn't stopped the Atlanta Braves from being dead last on the year in defensive runs saved. The Los Angeles Dodgers are the last team you want to play poor defense against, because every extra opportunity they have is another chance for one of the big bats in their lineup to do damage. The offseason addition of Matt Olson has been one of the lone bright spots to begin the season, as he has a .421 batting average through 11 games. If the Atlanta Braves want to have a chance to win this game, they will need to excel in all aspects of the game.

Pick/Prediction:

NRFI (No Run First Inning) (-110)

Tonight's pitching matchup is a good formula for a no-run first inning. On one side, you have Clayton Kershaw who didn't allow a baserunner in his first start. On the other side, Ynoa gets the start. He gave up five earned runs to the Nationals in his first start of the season. This isn't asking for too much out of either pitcher. Just execute pitches in the first inning and get three quick outs.

LEAN: Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5 (-105)