The Dodgers grabbed Game 1 by a 3-1 score Friday night behind a Freddie Freeman blast and a go-ahead Shohei Ohtani knock, and now Atlanta walks into Saturday with a brutal pitching matchup on the marquee. Blake Snell is finally activated off the IL to make his Dodger-blue 2026 debut. Spencer Strider is coming off an ugly Coors Field season opener — 5 walks, 3 runs, 3.1 innings, hence that 8.10 ERA staring at you on the card.
Snell hasn't thrown a regular-season pitch yet because of shoulder fatigue, the same shoulder that cost him 4 months last year. The Dodgers cut his rehab assignment short after his 3rd Triple-A start (4 IP, 55 pitches) because Tyler Glasnow hit the IL with back spasms. So Snell isn't fully built up — expect a short leash and a parade of LA arms after him.
Strider's debut was the kind of start you squint at and try to find positives. The velo was back. The command was nowhere. He hit a career-high 5 walks in 3.1 innings against the Rockies, and now he draws a Dodgers lineup that just put up runs on Atlanta's staff a night ago. Even minus Mookie Betts (oblique rehab) and Tommy Edman, this is still Ohtani-Freeman-Smith staring down a guy whose feel for the strike zone hasn't shown up yet.
- Day-To-DayBlake Burkhalter RP — Triple-A Gwinnett placed Burkhalter on the 7-day injured list March 27 with back spasms, Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline reports.
- Day-To-DayJorge Mateo SS — Mateo was held out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Mariners while he nurses a jammed thumb, Lindsay Crosby of BravesToday.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILRonald Acuna Jr. RF — Manager Walt Weiss said Sunday that Acuna has been diagnosed with a Grade 1 strain of his left hamstring, Chad Bishop of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.
- 10-Day-ILHa-Seong Kim SS — Kim (finger) is moving his rehab assignment from Double-A Columbus to Triple-A Gwinnett this week, Lindsay Crosby of BravesToday.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILHurston Waldrep SP — Atlanta manager Walt Weiss said Tuesday that Waldrep (elbow) will throw a bullpen session in about a week and could be ready to rejoin the team in June, Grant McAuley of the Marietta Daily Journal reports.
- suspensionJurickson Profar LF — Profar will miss the full 2026 season after the appeal of his 162-game PED suspension was denied Thursday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILDylan Dodd RP — Dodd (back) is expected to begin a minor-league rehab assignment with Triple-A Gwinnett in the coming days, Lindsay Crosby of BravesToday.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILDanny Young RP — Atlanta transferred Young (elbow) to the 60-day injured list Saturday.
- 10-Day-ILTommy Edman 2B — Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Monday that Edman has been backed off his rehab a bit after feeling residual soreness in his surgically repaired right ankle, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.
- 10-Day-ILMookie Betts SS — Betts (oblique) will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday.
- 15-Day-ILTyler Glasnow SP — no
- 15-Day-ILBlake Snell SP — Snell (shoulder) will be activated from the 15-day injured list Saturday to make his season debut for the Dodgers against Atlanta, Jack Harris of the California Post reports.
- 15-Day-ILBen Casparius RP — The Dodgers placed Casparius on the 15-day injured list Monday with right shoulder inflammation, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.
- 15-Day-ILEdwin Diaz RP — Diaz said Monday that he's feeling "really good" following right elbow surgery and expressed confidence that he will be back to full strength in the second half of the season, Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register reports.
- 15-Day-ILBrusdar Graterol RP — Graterol (shoulder) will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Oklahoma City on Saturday, Triple-A Oklahoma City broadcaster Alex Freedman reports.
- 60-Day-ILLandon Knack SP — The Dodgers transferred Knack (chest) to the 60-day injured list Tuesday.
The IL list is comical on both sides. Atlanta is without Ronald Acuna Jr., Profar (full-season PED suspension), Schwellenbach, Smith-Shawver, Waldrep, and Joe Jimenez. The Dodgers are trotting out a bullpen missing Edwin Diaz, Evan Phillips, Brusdar Graterol, and Ben Casparius, with Glasnow now joining the pile. This series is being held together with rehab assignments and duct tape.
The market is pricing Snell's name and Strider's rust — Dodgers -170, total sitting at 8.5. The handle/ticket split on the spread (85% of money on LA -1.5, only 56% of bets) tells you the sharps and bigger bettors are leaning home. Hard to argue when one starter has a 0.00 ERA next to his name and the other is at 8.10. Just remember: Snell is on a pitch count, and 'Dodger bullpen vs. anyone' has been a coin flip when the back-end guys aren't available.
Atlanta is 26-13 and still owns the better record despite the injury report reading like a phone book. They take the loss and they're walking out of LA already down a series. First pitch 8:10 ET.