The Braves' offense got them here. In the winner-take-all Game 3 against Philadelphia, Michael Harris II hit a 3-run homer in the 1st, Ozzie Albies added a 2-run shot, Matt Olson hit a solo homer, and Ray Kerr kept the Phillies quiet in a 6-2 win. Then they flew across the country for a 1:00 PM PT first pitch less than 2 days later. That's a hard trip for a team that already had to empty its pitching staff to win a 3-game series.
Atlanta has no reason to be scared of this matchup, though. The Braves won 5 of the 6 regular-season meetings and outscored Los Angeles 26-15. Their most recent win came against Yamamoto: Drake Baldwin led off the August 27 game with a homer, and that held up in a 1-0 win. Los Angeles finished with the better record, 100-62 against 94-68, and won its last 3 at San Francisco before the bye. But the Dodgers lost the season series to this team clearly.
The Dodgers have more bullpen depth than Atlanta in a game that will probably be decided by relievers. Tanner Scott, Roki Sasaki and Edwin Díaz can all close, and Edgardo Henriquez is expected back after working out during the bye. Blake Treinen is done for the year with a shoulder injury, so Dave Roberts loses a veteran he could have used in the middle innings. Atlanta is down Didier Fuentes, but Robert Suarez's velocity is back up. Weather could matter too: the forecast calls for 102 degrees under clouds with almost no wind at an afternoon start, which is good hitting weather for any reliever who leaves a pitch up.
The question for Game 1 is how many outs the Braves can get from pitchers who weren't supposed to be starting in October. If Yamamoto goes deep, Atlanta has to win a low-scoring game. If the Braves' lineup gets to him the way it did in August, the 5-1 season series stops looking like a fluke.