Braves vs. Dodgers: MLB Game Odds and Expert Analysis

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It’s a likely National League Championship Series preview starting Thursday night from Los Angeles as the NL East-leading Braves visit the NL West-leading Dodgers. They are the two favorites to win the World Series but obviously only one can get there. We have MLB betting odds for the beginning of this great series.

Atlanta Braves vs. Los Angeles Dodgers | 2023 MLB Expert Analysis

MLB Week 21: Monday August 28 – Sunday September 3, 2023

How to Bet Atlanta at Los Angeles MLB Odds & TV Info

When: Thursday, 10:10 PM ET
Where: Dodger Stadium
Probable pitchers (away/home): Spencer Strider/Lance Lynn
TV: MLB Extra Innings
Stream/gameday audio: https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/
Opening MLB Lines: Braves -110, Dodgers -110 (total 9)

Why Bet on Atlanta?

Atlanta is the only team in baseball with three 30-homer players this season, and just 11 players in total have reached the mark. Twenty-seven percent of those are Braves in Marcell Ozuna, Matt Olson and Austin Riley. The single-season franchise record for such players is four, set in 1998. Ronald Acuña Jr has 29 for Atlanta this season, and Ozzie Albies has 28.

Acuna has become the sixth player in MLB history with 25+ HR and 60+ SB within a single-season, joining Hall-of Famers Joe Morgan (1973, ’76) and Rickey Henderson (1986, ’90) and former Cincinnati Red Eric Davis (1986). No player in MLB history has ever amassed 30 HR and 60 stolen bases within a single-season but Acuna is a lock to do it. The NL MVP favorite is on pace for 147 runs and 75 stolen bases. The only player in the Modern Era (since 1900) to hit those marks within a single-season is Hall-of-Famer Ty Cobb (1911).

It’s ace and Cy Young contender Spencer Strider (15-4) on the mound. Strider a run on three hits and a walk while striking out nine over seven innings to earn the win last Friday over the Giants. Strider’s scoreless streak came to an end when he gave up a run in the seventh inning. He hadn’t allowed a run over 14 innings across his previous two starts. The 24-year-old right-hander has a 3.46 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 236:47 K:BB through 153.1 innings across 26 starts this season.

August has been a completely different story for Strider with a collective 2.37 ERA so far with a .162 opponents average in 30.1 innings. His walk total jumped up a bit to 11 in the month but he’s allowed just 8 runs on 17 hits with 37 strikeouts. Overall, Strider leads MLB in wins (15), total strikeouts (236), strikeout rate (13.9 K/9), and Fielding Independent Pitching (2.80). His WHIP of 1.057 is the best in the National League and is 6th best in baseball.

Strider is on pace for 300+ strikeouts for the season and when he threw his 8th strikeout during his most recent outing in San Francisco, he tied Dwight Gooden for the fewest starts needed to reach 400 career strikeouts at 46.

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Why Bet on Los Angeles?

In AL/NL history, there have been nine 60-homer seasons but only six players in AL/NL history have put up a 60-double season, and, what’s more, they all fell within the same 10-year period nearly a century ago. Of those six players, four (Charlie Gehringer, Hank Greenberg, Joe Medwick and Paul Waner) are in the Hall of Fame.

LA’s Freddie Freeman is on pace to join that club this season barring injury and seems a lock to lead the majors in doubles again with an MLB-best 50. Freeman is two doubles shy from tying Johnny Frederick (1929) for most in Dodger franchise history. The Major League record for doubles in a season is 67, established by Earl Webb in 1931.

MVP candidate Mookie Betts is on the cusp of a very historic month. He could become the 4th player in MLB history since 1901 with a .450 batting average, 10 doubles and 10 homers in a month. He needs a HR in the final 2 games (entering Wednesday) and the BA to obviously stay above .450. Betts has already set a career-high in hits this month and has set a career high with 36 homers overall.

He is slashing .407/.496/.778 with 17 homers, 47 RBI, 55 runs scored and 34 walks in his last 50 games since June 28. He leads the NL in OPS (1.020) and slugging (.612) and ranks fourth with 36 home runs while ranking second in runs (112) and fifth in walks (75). Betts is hitting .452 (47-for-104) in the month of August.

It’s right-hander and trade acquisition Lance Lynn (10-9) on the mound. Lynn allowed four runs (three earned) on 10 hits and a walk over six-plus innings last Friday, striking out one and earning a win against Boston. Lynn was tagged with three runs in the first two innings but his offense was able to pick him up.

While it was his worst outing since being acquired by the Dodgers, he’s now 4-0 with a 1.70 ERA in five starts with his new team. For the season, Lynn owns a 5.56 ERA with a 170:51 K:BB through 150.2 frames. He was acquired on July 28 along with reliever Joe Kelly (now hurt) from the White Sox.

Lynn will face Atlanta for the eighth time in his career. He is 4-3 with a 3.32 ERA (16 ER/43.1 IP) and 37 strikeouts against 12 walks He faced the Braves on July 15 with the White Sox, spinning 5.1 innings and giving up six hits, four runs and three walks while striking out six in the win.

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Expert Prediction

Braves 5, Dodgers 4

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