TLDR: Two games in Los Angeles settled nothing, so the Dodgers-Braves NLDS moves to Truist Park at 1-1. Tuesday, October 6 brings out the 2 aces both clubs held back for this exact spot.
The Dodgers and Braves split 2 games in Los Angeles, and Game 3 at Truist Park is the first game of the series with both aces starting: Chris Sale on extra rest against a fully rested Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Atlanta's injured rotation has made Sale its only reliable source of innings, while the Dodgers' power lineup and short-handed bullpen are trying to bounce back from a Game 2 where they stranded runners and Blake Snell lasted 3⅔ innings. The game will likely come down to which starter pitches deeper.
+Sale: 10 strikeouts, 0 walks in last regular-season start
+Bullpen retired 14 straight Dodgers in Game 2
+Harris had a triple and a double in Game 2
Game 3 is the first matchup in this series where both teams start their best arm. Chris Sale (14-9, 2.16) goes for Atlanta. The Braves passed on starting him in Game 2 on short rest because he'd thrown 21 pitches to close out the Wild Card round against Philadelphia. Walt Weiss said he wanted a full-strength Sale, and he'll get one at home. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (14-9, 2.53) goes for Los Angeles, and this is the most rest he's had all year. He has never started a big-league game on fewer than 5 days' rest, and the Dodgers set this up on purpose. Starting him here also lines him up for Game 2 of the NLCS.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto
(14-9)·2.53 ERA
Sep 23 vs Padres
L
6.0IP
2ER
4K
1BB
88P
10/06 Lineup
Chris Sale
(14-9)·2.16 ERA
Sep 23 vs Reds
ND
5.2IP
1ER
10K
0BB
97P
10/06 Lineup
Atlanta has gotten this far without a real rotation. Dylan Dodd opened Game 1 and Ray Kerr opened Game 2, and the bullpen did the rest. Martin Perez and Bryce Elder are both ruled out for the NLDS, Spencer Strider and Spencer Schwellenbach are done for the year, and Tyler Mahle hurt his abdomen warming up for his last start. Sale is the one sure thing they have left. The Dodgers' bullpen has its own holes, with Blake Treinen, Brusdar Graterol and Ben Casparius all on the IL. It also had to cover more than 5 innings in Game 2 after Blake Snell walked 5 and was out by the fourth.
Game 2 showed how Atlanta wins this series. Mauricio Dubon drove in a run with a 2-strike, bases-loaded single in the first. Michael Harris II tripled in the fifth and scored the go-ahead run on a Kris Bubic wild pitch, then doubled off Edgardo Henriquez in the seventh. The Braves' bullpen retired 14 Dodgers in a row after the fifth before Max Muncy's solo homer in the ninth made it 3-2. Raisel Iglesias closed it for his second save.
Game 1 went the other way. Tarik Skubal retired 15 straight Braves, and Teoscar Hernández, Kyle Tucker and Muncy all homered in a 5-3 Dodgers win. Atlanta had 4 hits that night. Shohei Ohtani hasn't done much yet: he went 1-for-4 with 2 strikeouts in Game 2, and the Dodgers left 7 runners on base in the first 5 innings. Against Sale, a lineup that leans on the long ball probably can't wait around for 1 big swing.
The forecast is 78 and clear with a light 8 mph wind, so the weather shouldn't decide anything. What will matter is how deep each starter goes. Atlanta's bullpen has covered most of the innings in 2 straight games, and Sale is the only Braves starter who can be counted on for real length. If Yamamoto pitches the way he did last October, when he was World Series MVP, the Braves will need Sale to match him pitch for pitch. Monday's travel day gives both bullpens some rest. The team whose starter goes deeper will likely leave Atlanta 1 win from the NLCS.
NLDS Game 3: Los Angeles Dodgers at Atlanta Braves — Sale and Yamamoto Meet in Atlanta With the NLDS Tied 1-1 | Polymarket Odds · Barstool Bush
