2018 NLDS Game 1: Braves vs Dodgers Preview and Pick

Braves vs. Dodgers NLDS Game 1 Should be a Doozy

NLDS Game 1 of the best-of-five National League Division Series starts on Thursday Night. Dodger Stadium hosts the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers in what should be a good pitching matchup. Thursday, October 4 at 8:37 PM ET Dodger Stadium Clear 74°F Wind: 1 mph will be blowing Out Odds: The Dodgers are -180-moneyline favorites. The total is at 7 Under -120.  

Foltynewicz ends the season strong

Mike Foltynewicz (13-10, 2.85 ERA, 1.08 WHIP) allowed one earned run on one hit in his last outing. He no walks with nine strikeouts over five innings in a 10-2 win against the Phillies last Friday. Foltynewicz’s 2.85 ERA and 1.08 WHIP are a large reason for the success of the Braves. He led the National League with two complete games and broke the 200 strikeout plateau for the first time at 202. The Braves scored 759 runs (10th in the majors). They are putting up 4.69 runs per game (10th), hitting .257 (5th) with 175 home runs (19th). Atlanta ranked 7th with a 3.75 ERA, 13th with a 1.28 WHIP and 10th with 1423 strikeouts. Their bullpen ranked 17th with a 4.15 ERA. Ronald Acuna Jr. led the Braves with 26 home runs. Freddie Freeman had team-bests with a .309 batting average, 98 RBI, a .388 OBP and 191 hits. He was third on the Braves with 23 home runs and Ozzie Albies had 24 home runs and 72 RBI. 

Ryu rewarded with Game 1 start

Hyun-Jin Ryu (7-3, 1.97 ERA, 1.01 WHIP) gave up one earned run on four hits (one home run) in his last start. He also had two walks with three strikeouts over six innings in a 3-1 win against the Giants last Friday. Ryu has pitched fantastic since coming off the disabled list in mid-August. Since then he has a 1.88 ERA, a 1.08 WHIP and a 10.6 strikeout-to-walk ratio (K/BB) over 52 2/3 innings. He’s 3-0 with an 0.47 ERA and an 0.74 WHIP in his last three starts.  Ryu has allowed just one earned run over 19 innings The Dodgers scored 804 runs (5th in the majors). They are putting up 4.93 runs per game (5th), hitting .250 (14th) with 235 home runs (2nd). Los Angeles ranked 2nd with a 3.38 ERA, 2nd with a 1.15 WHIP and 3rd with 1565 strikeouts. Their bullpen ranked 8th with a 3.72 ERA. Max Muncy led the Dodgers with 35 home runs and was second on the team with 79 RBI. Cody Bellinger and Joc Pederson had 25 home runs each and Matt Kemp had 21 home runs. Kemp also had a team-bests with a .290 batting average and 85 RBI.  

MLB Trends:

The Atlanta Braves are: 3-9 in their last 12 games against a left-handed starter 1-4 in their last five road games  3-8 in Foltynewicz’s last 11 starts after scoring two runs or less in their previous game 1-4 in Foltynewicz’s last five starts against a team with a winning record 2-8 in Foltynewicz’s last 10 starts when their opponent allows two runs or less in their previous game  1-5 in Foltynewicz’s last six starts when their opponent scores five runs or more in their previous game 1-6 in Foltynewicz’s last seven starts against National League West opponents 10-25 in the last 35 meetings 1-4 in the last five meetings in Los Angeles

The Los Angeles Dodgers are:

7-0 in their last seven home games against a team with a winning road record 6-1 in their last seven home games 4-1 in Ryu’s last five starts against a team with a winning record 4-1 in Ryu’s last five home starts 10-4 in Ryu’s last 14 starts The Dodgers scored seven runs in 11 1/3 innings against Mike Foltynewicz, they’re very dangerous against right-handed pitchers, as they led the National League with a .796 OPS against right-handers and they also led the league with 168 home runs against righties.  Hyun-Jin Ryu posted a 1.15 ERA and an 0.90 WHIP in nine home starts and a 1.50 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP in his last five starts while Mike Foltynewicz gave up four earned runs on six hits (two home runs) and three walks with five strikeouts in a 4-1 loss against the Dodgers on July 27 and this will be his first career postseason start. 

NLDS Game 1 Pick: Dodgers -180 at Jazz Sports

Check odds here: https://goo.gl/dVwAAb Odds as seen on ESPN Chalk: https://ac.topaffiliates.net/adcenter?bannercode=JAZZ000&affiliatecode=0CB7FE&campaign=0&p=h