The Los Angeles Dodgers are set to face off against the Atlanta Braves in the National League Division Series.
LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers now know who they will play in this year's National League Division Series. After a thrilling 2-1 Wild Card Series win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday, the Atlanta Braves are set to travel west for a best-of-five NLDS that kicks off this Saturday at Dodger Stadium.
Looking back at this season, the Dodgers had not fared well against Atlanta. In six meetings, Los Angeles went 1-5, including a sweep at Truist Park in August.
The Dodgers now have a clean slate and home-field advantage to look forward to for Games 1 and 2. As far as the starting rotation, skipper Dave Roberts has yet to reveal the order in which his starters will pitch or the postseason roster as a whole.
Dodgers might go with Yamamoto
Despite the big question mark, you can expect ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto to start on Saturday in the series opener. The right-hander made every start of his 2026 campaign, racking up 182 strikeouts in 185 innings pitched and recording a 2.53 ERA in 28 starts.
When looking at his postseason stats, look no further than his 2025 heroics, as he went 5-1 with two complete games and an ERA of 1.45 in 37.1 innings tossed.
But on the flip side, the Braves have hit better off righties than they do lefties. Granted, it's just a 10-point difference (.250 off righties, .240 off lefties); Roberts could switch lanes and hand the ball to Tarik Skubal for Game 1.
Whether it's Yamamoto or Skubal, the Dodgers have the upper hand when it comes to the pitching front. Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow — who started on the mound during Thursday's intrasquad game at Dodger Stadium — could rotate for Game 3.
Bullpen pulls its weight for LA
The bullpen adds a little bit extra to a formidable rotation. Edgardo Henriquez stands out as the most reliable right-hander coming out of the bullpen and is slated to be on the Postseason roster after some lower back discomfort earlier in the month.
Roki Sasaki is also in line to come out of the bullpen as he did during last year's postseason run.
A few Dodgers have made strides during the bye week, including Shohei Ohtani.
Dodgers hitting coach Aaron Bates spoke to the media on Thursday and commended his bat-to-ball production over the last two days.
"His batting practice outside was really good the last few days," Bates said. "It's as good as I've seen it this year."
Bates added that Ohtani faced Yamamoto three times during the Dodgers' intrasquad game on Wednesday, and both came out well.
With the NLDS beginning on Saturday, it marks the first step in the Dodgers' journey of becoming the first NL team to three-peat in MLB history.
