Series Stakes: Dodgers on a Roll, Braves Scuffling

The Los Angeles Dodgers arrive in Atlanta riding a six-game winning streak, having swept the Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates over the past week. They will face a Braves team that has lost five of their last eight games and seven of their last ten, according to multiple outlets. The series begins Tuesday at Truist Park, with both teams off on Monday.

The Dodgers (80-51) hold a four-game lead over the Braves (76-55) for the No. 2 seed in the National League, as reported by both Sports Illustrated and Heavy. The Braves are four games behind the Dodgers in the standings, and the series carries added weight for Atlanta as its lead in the NL East has dwindled.

According to WIS10, the Braves once held more than a 10-game lead in the division and had one of the NL's top two records, but a lackluster August – combined with nine straight wins by the Philadelphia Phillies – has cut that lead to three games. The Braves have 31 games left in the regular season and face one of baseball's toughest remaining schedules, a stretch that begins with this series against the Dodgers.

Glasnow Returns for Dodgers

The headline pitching storyline is the return of Dodgers right-hander Tyler Glasnow, who has been sidelined since May 6 with back spasms. According to Sports Illustrated, Glasnow left his start against the Houston Astros after one inning and has not pitched since, suffering multiple setbacks during his recovery. Speaking to The Athletic, Glasnow said, "It just went with that [warm-up] pitch. And I think I just tried to come back too early a few times, and it just prolonged everything."

Glasnow is 3-0 with a 2.72 ERA and 49 strikeouts across 39.2 innings this season. He made four rehab starts, allowing two runs over 13.2 innings with 20 strikeouts, per Sports Illustrated.

The Dodgers also continue to use Shohei Ohtani as their everyday designated hitter while he remains sidelined from pitching due to knee inflammation, as noted by WIS10.

Pitching Probables: A Look at the Matchups

All three outlets list the probable starters for the series, though they differ slightly in the order of naming home and away pitchers. The matchups are as follows:

  • Tuesday, August 25: Tyler Glasnow (3-0, 2.72 ERA) vs. Bryce Elder (8-7, 3.92 ERA)
  • Wednesday, August 26: Roki Sasaki (5-5, 4.42 ERA) vs. AJ Smith-Shawver (0-0, 6.23 ERA)
  • Thursday, August 27: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12-7, 2.61 ERA) vs. Chris Sale (12-9, 2.20 ERA)

The probable starters are courtesy of MLB.com and are subject to change, according to Heavy. ESPN's baseball coverage (via Heavy) notes that the Thursday matchup between Yamamoto and Sale features two starters likely to finish in the top five of NL Cy Young voting.

Bryce Elder, who starts the opener for Atlanta, is 8-7 with a 3.92 ERA across 24 starts and 137.2 innings this season. He faced the Dodgers on May 10, pitching 5.2 scoreless innings while allowing one hit and four walks with eight strikeouts, as reported by Sports Illustrated.

Roki Sasaki has thrown 116 innings this season with a 4.42 ERA. Since the All-Star break, he is 2-0 with a 2.31 ERA over 35 innings in five starts, according to Sports Illustrated.

AJ Smith-Shawver will make just his third start of the season. The right-hander has allowed six runs over 8.2 innings for a 6.23 ERA. He underwent Tommy John surgery last June, as reported by both Sports Illustrated and WIS10. The Braves continue to use a six-man rotation, per WIS10.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto has 35 walks over 151.2 innings this season and has not faced the Braves this year, according to Sports Illustrated. Chris Sale has 28 walks over 135 innings and faced the Dodgers on May 8, allowing three runs (two earned) over seven innings with seven strikeouts. Over the weekend, Sale faced Cy Young contender Jacob Misiorowski, as noted by WIS10.

Recent Form and Key Storylines

The Dodgers and Braves played from May 8-10 this season, with Atlanta taking two of three games. The Braves salvaged their recent series against the Brewers with a win on Sunday, according to Sports Illustrated.

The Dodgers are one game back of the Milwaukee Brewers for the No. 1 seed in the National League. However, after losing the season series to Milwaukee, they need to pick up two games to take the top spot, as Sports Illustrated reported. Whichever team finishes as the No. 3 seed will have to play in a best-of-three wild-card series.

The Braves' offense has struggled in August, posting an 85 wRC+ (weighted runs created plus; 100 is average), which ranks 24th in baseball, according to WIS10. The pitching staff has been strong, recording the fifth-best ERA in baseball this month. Max Muncy has posted a 1.129 OPS over his past 13 games (40 at-bats) with four home runs and 15 RBIs, per WIS10.

In other roster news, the Braves recalled Brewer Hicklen and demoted Jim Jarvis on Monday, cementing Mauricio Dubón as the starting shortstop. Hicklen served as the 27th man in the Little League Classic on Sunday, as reported by WIS10.

How to Watch and What's Next

First pitch for each game is at 4:15 p.m. PT/7:15 p.m. ET. Tuesday's game will air on SportsNet LA, the MLB app, and TBS; Wednesday on SportsNet LA, the MLB app, and MLB Network; and Thursday on SportsNet LA, the MLB app, and FS1, according to Sports Illustrated.

The Braves and Gray Media will simulcast 25 games free over-the-air in 26 markets, starting with this series, as noted by WIS10.

After the Dodgers series, the Braves host the Rockies for three games beginning Friday and the Giants on Monday in a makeup game from June 18. They then travel to Washington for two games against the Nationals before heading to Philadelphia for a four-game series against the Phillies.

For the Dodgers, Monday also brought a personal milestone: Kiké Hernández turned 35 on August 25. The Dodgers X account posted a birthday message for the fan-favorite, who has three World Series rings and has spent 10 seasons with the team. Hernández has not played much this season due to injury and the Dodgers' depth, but could see more time as Andy Pages is sidelined for nearly a month, as reported by Heavy. His career totals include a .236 batting average with 132 home runs and 475 RBIs across 1,293 games.