With a winner-take-all showdown looming, who would the Los Angeles Dodgers prefer to face, the Atlanta Braves or Philadelphia Phillies?
A third and final game is necessary between the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies in order to determine which team will face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series.
The first ever ABS walk-off challenge put an end to the Phillies' 4-3 extra-innings victory on Wednesday, Sept. 30.
Remember, the Phillies were in the driver's seat in game one until Austin Riley hit a three-run blast that led the Braves to a 5-3 win.
Now, all eyes are on the winner-take-all game on Thursday, Oct. 1, one that gives the Dodgers a nice advantage knowing the winner of this series will have one fewer day of rest than any of the other Wild Card winners.
Phillies have looked solid in these two games
The odds-on favorite to win this series for the sake of Dodgers fans path to the easiest World Series possible, was to see the Phillies win.
That may have been the case coming into the series, but suddenly, Philadelphia is beginning to put it all together.
They haven't allowed more than five runs in either of the first two games, and holding the Braves to three runs in 10 innings is incredibly impressive.
For Philly to go to Atlanta and overcome a 1-0 deficit would be a massive boost to their morale, and could put the Dodgers in quite a bit of danger.
That said, on paper, the Phillies are still the easier opponent in the NLDS. Remember, this is a Dodgers team that won four of six games against Philadelphia in the regular season, and they can't say the same about Atlanta as the Braves went 5-1 vs. LA.
Braves blew 3-1 lead in Game 2
Not only did the Braves blow a two-run lead, but they did so going into the eighth inning. Time was running out on the Phillies, and then to make matters worse, Atlanta wasn't even able to plate a run in extras.
The Phillies have actually out-hit the Braves in this series, 18-16. That's not the biggest difference in the world, but it's still enough, especially since they're coming off a three-home-run game.
Atlanta has the better overall record; they're one of the best teams at home this season, but ultimately this is what happens in a best-of-three series when two divisional opponents are doing battle.
The Braves remain the Dodgers' least preferred NLDS opponent, but they've shown quite a few flaws already, so it'll be interesting to see how game three plays out.
