Mighty Dodgers stand in way of Braves again

The Braves won the first of six straight National League East titles in 2018. It took them another three seasons to figure out the Dodgers.

The Braves beat L.A. on the way to the 2021 World Series title. But those aren’t the Dodgers the Braves will see in the best-of-five NL Division Series starting this weekend.

Back then, the Dodgers were regular-season stalwarts but postseason underachievers. The current Dodgers are back-to-back World Series champions.

The 2021 Dodgers were known for their depth of talent. The 2026 Dodgers are top-heavy with superstars who weren’t on the roster then.

Congratulations to the Braves for eliminating the Phillies in the NL Wild Card Series on Thursday at Truist Park. Their next mission: Beat the most expensive roster — and perhaps the most talented — ever assembled.

There was always a high chance that it would come to this for the Braves. Winning the World Series means going through the Dodgers. The Braves did it once, but this is a new beast they’ll have to tame, starting Saturday at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers didn’t have four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani in 2021. Freddie Freeman starred for the Braves that year, not the Dodgers. The Dodgers signed four-time All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker in January.

And then there’s the pitching. No team has a deeper collection of good arms.

The Dodgers have four top-tier starters who weren’t with them in 2021: Blake Snell (two-time Cy Young Award winner), Tarik Skubal (ditto), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2025 World Series MVP) and Tyler Glasnow. They signed former Mets All-Star closer Edwin Díaz in December.

The Dodgers aren’t invincible. The Padres had them down 2-1 in the best-of-five 2024 NLDS before losing in five games. The Dodgers needed extra innings to beat the Blue Jays in Game 7 of the 2025 World Series.

But the Dodgers got it done. They handled the pressure of being heavy favorites with a high-priced payroll. Now they have better pitching after acquiring Díaz and Snell. Tucker filled a big hole in the outfield.

Collectively, Dodgers hitters aren’t bashers. They finished tied with the Braves for seventh in home runs among MLB teams this season. Ohtani hit 30 homers (135 games) and Max Muncy hit 29. None of the other regulars hit more than 25.

The Dodgers scored the fourth-most runs in MLB this season with a well-rounded offense. They got on base more than every team except the Brewers and Cubs. They hit for a higher average (.257) than every team except the Brewers and Rays. The Dodgers had a high walk rate (third-best) and low strikeout rate (fourth).

The Dodgers will be rested after earning a bye as the NL’s No. 2 seed. It’s not clear whether the time off is an advantage, especially for hitters. But the bye allows manager Dave Roberts to line up his pitching however he wants, and no skipper has better choices.

Two-way superstar Ohtani (1.79 ERA) won’t pitch in the playoffs after injuries derailed his throwing program. The Dodgers are so deep with pitchers that not having Ohtani on the mound hardly matters.

The top four are Yamamato (2.53 ERA), Snell (1.90 ERA), Skubal (2.61 ERA) and Glasnow (3.53 ERA). Justin Wrobleski (3.66 ERA) is available in relief.

All those pitchers get batters to swing-and-miss a lot. They don’t issue many walks, and they don’t allow many home runs. Right-handers Yamamoto and Glasnow are effective against lefty hitters, and lefties Skubal and Snell are effective against right-handed hitters.

Some of those pitchers are likely to be available to pitch more than once in the series if it lasts longer than three games. It could turn out that the bullpen won’t need much help from them.

Closer Tanner Scott (2.69 ERA) bounced back this year after a down season in 2025. Alex Vesia (2.64 ERA) and Jack Dreyer (3.20) are among the best middle relievers in MLB. Díaz (8.68 ERA) struggled for much of the year in a setup role but finished the season with five consecutive appearances with no runs and just one hit allowed.

The Braves will have to get past a formidable Dodgers team to win a championship. They did it in 2021 after years of losing to them.

From 2018-21, the Braves were 6-13 against the Dodgers in the regular season, including 1-8 on the road. They lost 3-1 to the Dodgers in the 2018 NLDS while dropping both games at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers beat the Braves 4-3 in the 2020 NLCS that was played in Arlington, Texas, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Braves finally broke through against the Dodgers in the 2021 NLCS. They won the series 4-2 with one victory at Dodger Stadium. The Braves went on to beat the Astros for their first World Series title since 1995 and the second of the franchise’s Atlanta era.

The Braves finally got past the Phillies after losing to them in the NLDS round in 2022 and ’23. To get one step closer to another World Series title, the Braves will have to beat a Dodgers team that’s stronger on paper than the 2021 squad.

It will be hard for the Braves. But they showed against the Phillies that they won’t be an easy out.