Braves vs Dodgers MLB Betting Odds, Pitchers, Prediction

The National League Championship Series continues on Thursday night with a massive Game 5 matchup. After jumping out to an early lead in Wednesday’s Game 4, the underdog Atlanta Braves are now just one win away from punching their ticket to the 2021 World Series. While the task in front of them may be difficult, if any team knows that it is possible to overcome a 3-1 series deficit, it’s the Los Angeles Dodgers. After all, the Dodgers did just that in last year’s NLCS against these same Braves (yes, there were baseball playoffs last year…sort of). The MLB betting odds favor the home side to come out on top in tonight’s Braves vs Dodgers Game 5 showdown.

This MLB betting preview for Braves vs Dodgers NLCS Game 5 includes game info, projected starting pitchers, betting odds, trends and a prediction for tonight’s postseason matchup.

Atlanta Braves vs Los Angeles Dodgers Betting Preview and Prediction | MLB Playoffs Game 5

NLCS Game 5 (ATL leads series 3-1)
Atlanta Braves (88-73, 46-35 Away) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (106-58, 58-23 Home)
Date: Thursday, Oct. 19, 2021
Time: 8:07 p.m. EST
Venue: Dodger Stadium — Los Angeles, CA
Coverage: TBS

Braves vs Dodgers Starting Pitchers

Braves: Max Fried (14-7, 3.04 ERA)
Dodgers: TBD (starting pitcher can be found HERE when announced)

Atlanta Braves Preview

While the scoreboard might not have suggested it last night, the Braves actually had to respond to some adversity of their own. Of course, the most prominent concern was the fact that Atlanta squandered a three-run lead in the eighth inning of a Game 3 loss. While manager Brian Snitker had been planning for a bullpen game on Wednesday all along, things got interesting shortly before the first pitch when projected starter, Huascar Ynoa, was ruled out with a shoulder injury. The Braves turned to Jesse Chavez on the fly to get things started. He was followed by Drew Smyly, who delivered 10 outs in his first appearance of the postseason. Atlanta’s bullpen was solid the whole way in allowing just four total hits.

It's Eddie's world. We're all just living in it.@EddieRosario09 | #BattleATL pic.twitter.com/SmLnOzhQ7d
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) October 21, 2021

The bullpen strategy was certainly aided by the fact that the Braves bats showed up early on in Wednesday night’s MLB betting contest. Eddie Rosario continued his red-hot postseason with a four-hit night. He got the scoring started for Atlanta with a homer in the second inning and would homer again in the ninth to add some insurance. Rosario fell just a double shy of hitting for the cycle. Adam Duvall and Freddie Freeman also went deep in the second and third innings, respectively. Freeman added an RBI knock in the ninth as well.

With an opportunity to close out this MLB betting series on Thursday, the Braves have star left-hander Max Fried scheduled to start on full rest. Fried gave up just two runs on eight hits over six innings of work in Game 1 of this NLCS. After not only surviving the bullpen game but winning it outright, Atlanta is in a great position entering tonight’s matchup.

Los Angeles Dodgers Preview

After rallying late to come away with the win in Game 3, the Dodgers entered Wednesday night’s MLB betting matchup feeling a lot better about their prospects in the NLCS. That optimism was sucked out of Dodger Stadium pretty quickly. After a controversial decision to bring Julio Urias on in relief in Game 2 of this series, the left-hander did not have his best stuff last night. A 20-game winner on the season, Urias surrendered five runs on eight hits over five innings to take the loss in Game 4. He got next to no run support from the sputtering Dodgers lineup. Outside of the eighth-inning outburst in Game 3, Los Angeles has been abnormally quiet offensively throughout this NLCS. A.J. Pollack drove in both runs last night. The Dodgers also lost veteran postseason star Justin Turner to a hamstring injury.

Navigating a must-win Game 5 will not be easy from a pitching standpoint for manager Dave Roberts tonight. The Dodgers will be forced to cobble together a bullpen game for the second time in this NLCS. While L.A.’s relievers have been solid for the most part in this series, it is far from the ideal scenario now that the team is facing elimination. It will be interesting to see if Max Scherzer is an option at all for tonight given that Game 6 is not even guaranteed. Most likely, the Dodgers will turn to Corey Knebel to start as they have twice already in the postseason. Joe Kelly could very well be the reliever Roberts targets as his “bulk pitcher” this evening.