After holding on for a 3-1 victory on Saturday night, the Los Angeles Dodgers have managed to push the NLCS against the Atlanta Braves to a series deciding Game 7 on Sunday night.
The Braves entered the NLCS with MLB betting odds of +190 to advance to the World Series but after taking a 3-1 series lead have closed the gap on the Dodgers. Nonetheless, the Dodgers are slim -130 favorites for Game 7.
We break down the baseball odds with our best Braves vs. Dodgers picks and predictions for Game 7 on Sunday, October 18 (8:15 p.m. ET).
Atlanta Braves vs Los Angeles Dodgers betting preview
Starting Pitchers
Ian Anderson RHP (2-0, 0.00 ERA) vs Dustin May RHP (1-0, 1.35 ERA)
The 22-year-old Anderson has been absolutely lights out this postseason for Atlanta. Following a strong regular season where he went 3-2 with a 1.95 ERA and 1.08 WHIP as a rookie, Mr. Anderson hasn't allowed a single run through 15 2-3 innings across three playoff starts.
Anderson got the start in Game 2 against the Dodgers and pitched four innings of shutout ball while allowing just one hit.
Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts waited until the 11th hour to name a starter and surprisingly tabbed young righty Dustin May to take the mound to open Game 7. May started Game 5 of this series, just two days ago, and gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks in just two innings pitched.
The right-hander has been strong in four postseason outings but has not topped two innings pitched in any of those appearances, so expect him to be piggybacked by, well, any and every arm available at Los Angeles' disposal.
Weather
This game will take place on neutral ground at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, and with a retractable roof, the weather should have minimal impact on play. Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our MLB weather info.
Moneyline Pick
Regardless of who gets the start for Los Angeles, expect the Dodgers middle relievers to get plenty of action. Urias is coming off just three days of rest while Gonsolin is coming off a rough outing. Either way, Atlanta has the edge in starting pitching with the way that Anderson has been performing lately.
While Anderson's control isn't the greatest, his stuff has been electric and it will have to be against a Dodgers lineup that's among the most feared in the majors. That said, while the Dodgers have won two of the last three games in this series, they are batting just .219 over that span while the Braves are hitting .288.
Both of these lineups have a terrific group of sluggers so expect pitching to be the deciding factor. And with the Braves opening as +118 underdogs, that puts the betting value squarely on them.
PREDICTION: Atlanta ML +118
Over/Under Pick
These teams combined for just four runs in Game 6 but that was with each club giving the ball to their top starters in Max Fried and Walker Buehler. The only other game that went Under the total this series was Game 1 with the same two pitchers on the mound. The other four games in the NLCS have all easily cashed the Over with an average total of 13.8 total runs per game.
These squads finished first and second in the majors in scoring and OPS during the regular season and are absolutely loaded with elite hitters like Mookie Betts, Cody Bellinger, Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuna Jr.
All it takes is one big inning for either of these teams to absolutely go off and with the Dodgers likely sending a boatload of pitchers to the mound, expect at least one of them to get knocked around.
PREDICTION: Over 8 (-103)
Braves vs Dodgers betting card
- Atlanta ML +118
- Over 8 (-103)
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