The Los Angeles Dodgers are 15-1 in their last 16 games coming off of a loss. The Dodgers will look to continue this trend of bounce-back wins when they face the Atlanta Braves on the road in Game 2 with their ace Max Scherzer on the mound.
- Date/Time: October 17, 7:38 p.m. ET
- Stadium: Truist Park
- TV Coverage: TBS
- Sportsbook Odds: Dodgers -170 | O/U 7.5 runs (Line History)
- Dodgers vs. Braves (Matchup Report)
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The Dodgers opened as -170 road favorites on Sunday and have since been bet up slightly to Los Angeles -180. Atlanta is going off as a +160 underdog in Game 2 while the total is set at 7.5 runs. The Braves are 5-0 in their last five home games.
Starting Pitchers Analysis
Max Scherzer has pitched 12.1 innings so far this postseason with two starts and a relief appearance in Game 5 against the San Francisco Giants. Scherzer has compiled a 1.46 ERA and 0.81 WHIP with 16 strikeouts in those three appearances. In 11 regular-season starts for the Dodgers this season, Scherzer had a 1.98 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP.
Ian Anderson pitched well in his first start of the postseason with five scoreless innings in Atlanta’s 3-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Anderson went 9-5 with a 3.58 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP in 128.1 innings pitched during the regular season.
Los Angeles News & Notes
Dave Roberts decided to save Max Scherzer for Game 2 and to go with a bullpen game in the NLCS opener against the Braves. The bullpen pitched well enough to give the Dodgers a chance to win with only two runs allowed through the first eight innings of the game but eventually came up short when Blake Treinen gave up the game-losing run in the bottom of the ninth.
Los Angeles managed eight hits including three extra-base hits off of Braves ace Max Fried in the game. But those hits only resulted in two runs scored. A costly base-running error by Chris Taylor in the top of the ninth inning ended the Dodgers’ last chance to retake the lead in the 3-2 loss.
Atlanta News & Notes
The Braves have received timely hits from a handful of different players this postseason, and on Saturday night it was Austin Riley playing the hero role. Riley hit a home run in the fourth inning to tie the series opener at 2-2 and also came through with the game-winning hit in the ninth to drive in Ozzie Albies to score.
Through five postseason games, the Braves have recorded a sensational 1.64 ERA. Ian Anderson will look to keep Atlanta’s stretch of dominant pitching rolling on Sunday night.
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How Los Angeles Will Win
The Dodgers came close to winning Game 1 without using a starting pitcher and squaring off against Atlanta’s best pitcher in Max Fried. Facing a less dominant pitcher in Anderson and sending Scherzer to the mound in Game 2, Los Angeles is the clear favorite in this one.
How Atlanta Will Win
Atlanta can win the same way it has been winning all postseason; with more elite pitching and timely hitting. For as talented as Los Angeles’s offense is, the Dodgers have been held to two runs or fewer in four of their last six games. If Anderson and the bullpen continue to impress, Atlanta’s offense will have the chance to breakthrough.
Computer Pick: Dodgers -175
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Buy Sports Picks Now- Los Angeles is 11-3 in its last 14 games.
- Atlanta is 3-7 in its last 10 games vs. Los Angeles.
- The UNDER is 5-2 in Los Angeles’s last 7 games.
