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This weekend, the Atlanta Braves will play host to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a four-game series. There are a lot of storylines to follow, including the showdown between two teams that have been in the playoffs for a long time and the individual and team accomplishments that are at stake.

Returns to Old Home for Third Time with Freddie Freeman

No matter how long this plot has been going on for, it will always be significant. For more than ten years, Freeman was a public face of Atlanta athletics. While wearing the Atlanta Braves uniform, he won the World Series and was named Most Valuable Player five times.

Since leaving, all he has done is divide and conquer his former squad. He has hit in sixteen games versus the Braves.Scored 317 runs, eight RBIs, and had an OPS of.959. A three-run home drive in Atlanta gave the Dodgers an 8-6 lead, and that was one of those dingers.

Emotions will run high, and many supporters will wear their old shirts to the game this weekend. Assuming Freeman’s former club also has a solid series, Braves fans are sure to be satisfied.

In the National League, Chris Sale has established himself as the clear favorite to win the Cy Young Award. But a solid performance against Los Angeles on Saturday is necessary if he is to win the Triple Crown and the race.

During his comeback season with the Braves, Sale has been dominant, topping the league in victories (16), earned run average (2.38), strikeouts (213), and earned run average plus (175). His WHIP is 0.996 as well. He would become the first pitcher since 2011’s Clayton Kershaw and Justin Verlander to capture the Triple Crown if he can hold on to his lead in those first three statistics.

The Dodgers aren’t exactly on his side, though. With three outings under his belt, Sale has a 10.13 ERA in the regular season. After ten and a third innings, he has allowed twelve runs, all earned. His already horrible 8.61 ERA in the postseason is much worse.

The year 2019 marks the last time any of these games took place. The moment has come. That’s a lot of different pairings. It could be different this time. For him to maintain his lead in strikeouts (205), remain ahead of Zach Wheeler for the ERA title (2.60), and be considered the best pitcher overall, it needs to be. It only takes one game to bring the race closer.

The top Wild Card slot is three games away, and the Braves are only one game out of the playoffs. At the same time, the Dodgers are in first place in the National League West, with a lead of five games over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Whoever takes the series might completely change the playoff landscape. There isn’t much room for error for the Braves if the Dodgers take the series. The Braves’ season will be effectively ended if they are swept. But a series victory for the Braves would put them in the hunt for the division lead and could end up hurting the Dodgers’ postseason aspirations.

In addition to a successful weekend against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Diamondbacks will also need a strong showing from the Braves at home if they want to catch up to the Dodgers.

When these two teams last played in Los Angeles, the Dodgers rolled over the Braves. The all-star utility player, Mookie Betts, had a rough go of it that weekend.
Betts slashed.083/.214/.083 throughout the course of the three-game series. On that swing, he managed to drive in two runs, despite only getting one hit. For what it’s worth, he made it count.
But it’s getting harder to predict when he’ll have these moments. In his two prior seasons playing the Braves, these are his stats:

He’s been completely absent or completely dominant. Who exactly will the Betts be in this series is anyone’s guess. The series and the Braves’ playoff chances are up in the air depending on the version of him we witness. Shohei Ohtani is already causing them enough trouble. With Betts’s success in the mix, winning the series becomes an even more daunting task. The Braves would do well to keep themselves somewhat in his thoughts.

Friday is game one of the Braves’ series against the Dodgers. At 7:20 p.m. EDT, the first pitch will be thrown.