The Braves rolled into Los Angeles with the best record in the NL and promptly traded haymakers with the defending champs. After Spencer Strider's 8-strikeout, 6-inning gem helped Atlanta even the series Saturday on a night the club honored the late Bobby Cox, the rubber match falls on Bryce Elder and Justin Wrobleski. Two guys nobody is talking about. Two guys who have been outpitching half the Cy Young conversation.
Wrobleski has been the story nobody saw coming. The lefty has surrendered 2 earned runs across his last 32 innings — five starts, zero losses, a 0.56 ERA over that stretch. He's not blowing anyone away with strikeouts, and Dodgers Nation already has the regression piece written and queued up, but the results are the results. Dave Roberts keeps handing him the ball because the rotation is held together with duct tape and Wrobleski just keeps eating innings, fast ones at that — his outings have averaged 2:34.
Elder's been every bit as steady. A 2.02 ERA across 8 starts, 6+ innings in 4 straight, and a .136 opponent average in 3 road outings. He's not the guy you circle on a Braves rotation that has Strider and a healthy starter or two left, but with Schwellenbach and Smith-Shawver wiped out for months, Elder has quietly become the rotation's most reliable arm. The Dodgers' lineup will see a sinker-heavy righty who lives at the knees and dares you to lift it.
- 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.
- 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.
- 60-Day-ILAJ Smith-Shawver SP — Atlanta placed Smith-Shawver (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Friday.
- 10-Day-ILMookie Betts SS — Betts (oblique) will travel back to Los Angeles on Sunday and could be activated from the 10-day injured list Monday ahead of the Dodgers' four-game home series against the Giants, Katie Woo of The Athletic reports.
- 15-Day-ILBrock Stewart RP — Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Saturday that he expects Stewart (foot) will be on the 15-day injured list for approximately three weeks, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.
- 15-Day-ILTyler Glasnow SP — no
- 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-ILTommy Edman 2B — The Dodgers transferred Edman (ankle) to the 60-day injured list Saturday.
- 60-Day-ILLandon Knack SP — The Dodgers transferred Knack (chest) to the 60-day injured list Tuesday.
The injury report is doing some heavy lifting on this one. Atlanta is still without Acuna (hamstring) and a chunk of its bullpen, plus Profar gone for the season on the PED suspension. LA gets Mookie back tomorrow against the Giants — not today — and is running out a bullpen missing Edwin Diaz, Brock Stewart, Phillips, and Casparius. If this thing gets to the 7th inning tied, both managers are working without their best leverage arms.
The market has the Dodgers as a clear favorite at home, but Pinnacle's fair line implies a coin flip closer than DraftKings is pricing it. The total at 8.5/9 tells you what you already know: two starters with a sub-2.10 ERA and two banged-up pens. The under handle is light, the over is getting hammered — fade the public if that's your thing. First pitch is 3:10 PM local.