The Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves on Tuesday begin a three-game series in Truist Park that has potential playoff implications. This pair of first-place teams of course occupy different divisions, but there's still the matter of seeding to be sorted out. First here are the essentials for this clash of National League titans.
All games can be streamed on fubo (Try for free). RHP Tyler Glasnow (3-0, 2.72) vs. RHP Bryce Elder (8-7, 3.92) RHP Rokie Sasaki (5-5, 4.42) vs.
RHP AJ Smith-Shawver (0-0, 6.23) RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12-7, 2.61) vs. LHP Chris Sale (12-9, 2.20) Now let's explore a few things to know about this clash of World Series hopefuls. Under the current MLB postseason format, the top two division winners in each league get to avoid the Wild Card Series and enjoy a bye straight to the Division Series.
Absurd annual discourse notwithstanding, this is a major advantage and gives incentive for the best teams to remain in "foot on gas" mode down the stretch. Speaking of which, here are the current "bye" standings among the three NL division leaders going into Tuesday's slate of games: That's a sizable deficit for the Braves this time of year, and it's important for them to at least take two of three from the Dodgers if they want to remain within hailing distance of a bye as September approaches. Of note is that Atlanta leads the season series against the Dodgers this season by a count of 2-1.
That's notable because there are no more tiebreaker games in MLB to sort out anything that needs sorting out after 162 games, be it division titles, playoff berths, or seeding. The first tiebreaker is head-to-head record, and if the Braves take at least two of three in this series, they'll hold the bye tiebreaker over the Dodgers. The second tiebreaker is each team's record within its respective division.
If the Dodgers take two of three from the Braves at Truist, then that second tiebreaker will come into play. On that front, the Dodgers this season are 26-17 against NL West opponents, while the Braves in 2026 are 27-13 against their NL East division rivals. Straightaway, the most compelling pitching matchup will be that duel of aces in the series finale, Yamamoto versus Sale.
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