Braves vs. Brewers NLDS Betting Odds
| Braves Series Price | +125 |
| Brewers Series Price | -150 |
Series Schedule
- Game 1: Friday, Oct. 8, TBS
- Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 9, TBS
- Game 3: Monday, Oct. 11, TBS
- Game 4: Tuesday, Oct. 12, TBS (if necessary)
- Game 5: Thursday, Oct. 14, TBS (if necessary)
Overview
The champions from the National League East and Central will square off in a best-of-five series with the winner moving on to the NLCS.
The Braves emerged from a muddled field in the NL East to claim their fourth straight division title. Last season, Atlanta made it to the NLCS where it was bested by the Dodgers in seven games. The Braves had lost in the NLDS the prior two seasons.
Atlanta is seeking its first World Series title since 1995.
Milwaukee got hot early in the summer and wound up running away from the NL Central field to clinch its fourth-straight postseason berth, but first division crown since 2018. The Brewers will be happy to be playing in the NLDS after getting bounced in the wild-card round in each of the previous two seasons.
The Brewers last made it to the World Series in 1982, and have never won a World Series.
During the regular season, the Braves and Brewers met six times and each won three games.
Atlanta Braves
Top Position Players
- Freddie Freeman, 1B
- Austin Riley, 3B
- Ozzie Albies, 2B
- Dansby Swanson, SS
The Braves survived a season-ending injury to star outfielder and MVP candidate Ronald Acuna Jr., and it was mostly thanks to the continued brilliance of reigning NL MVP Freeman and the ascent to stardom by young third baseman Riley.
Atlanta finished slightly below-average offensively with a 98 wRC+, which tied for the 12th-best mark in baseball. Its wOBA of .323 ranked ninth, and the Braves also had a top-10 walk rate in the league.
Projected Rotation
- Max Fried, LHP
- Charlie Morton, RHP
- Ian Anderson, RHP
- Huascar Ynoa, RHP
Pitching led the way for Atlanta, which finished with the seventh-best xFIP among starters in all of baseball. The success can mostly be attributed to Fried, who continued the ascent we saw in 2020 when he finished fifth in NL Cy Young voting.
The Braves run three-deep with reliable starters. Morton, who will turn 38 shortly after the postseason ends, looked like he was eyeing retirement after last season, but signed with Atlanta and posted his third straight full season with more than 200 strikeouts.
The young, budding ace, Anderson, was the Braves' top starter in the playoffs last year, so the fact that he has two other guys along with him gives the Braves a formidable trio for any opponent.
Key Bullpen Pieces
- Will Smith, LHP
- Luke Jackson, RHP
- Tyler Matzek, LHP
- A.J. Minter, LHP
- Chris Martin, RHP
Atlanta's bullpen has been a sore spot for most of the season, ranking as the 12th-worst unit in the majors by xFIP. No team that qualified for the postseason had a worse mark than its 4.35.
Smith leads the way just as he has since joining the Braves as a free agent from San Francisco. His strikeout rate wasn't what it once was, and he issues more walks than in any year since 2016.
Jackson, Matzek, Minter, Martin and more will be at manager Brian Snitker's disposal, but who he utilizes when, and who's hot and who's not, will go a long way toward determining Atlanta's fate.
Milwaukee Brewers
Top Position Players
- Willy Adames, SS
- Omar Narvaez, C
- Avisail Garcia, RF
- Kolten Wong, 2B
Noticeably absent from this list is Christian Yelich, who has now wrapped up his second-straight season of subpar production. The former MVP has battled injuries throughout the season, and is no doubt still dangerous, but his decline has been a sore spot for an offense that ranked below-average for most of the season.
Like Atlanta, the Brewers rank as a below-average offensive unit. Their 91 wRC+ is eighth-worst in the majors, and easily the worst of any playoff team.
A lot of that, however, is based on what they did early on before they got hot and ran away from the rest of the NL Central crowd. Since July, that wRC+ mark is 99, tied for the 13th-best mark in baseball (also tied with Atlanta). The credit for their jump can be attributed in large part to Willy Adames, who was cast out of Tampa and found new life in Milwaukee.
Projected Starting Pitcher
- Corbin Burnes, RHP
- Brandon Woodruff, RHP
- Freddy Peralta, RHP
- Adrian Houser, RHP
There is, simply put, no more formidable trio at the top of a playoff rotation than Milwaukee's Burnes, Woodruff and Peralta. Los Angeles might have a case with Max Scherzer, Walker Buehler, and a healthy Clayton Kershaw, but my money's on the Brewers.
Burnes may well win the NL Cy Young, and Woodruff was among the top contenders for most of the season. Peralta very well may be the most underrated pitcher in baseball, and is undercast as a No. 3 in this loaded rotation.
Milwaukee has some options beyond its top three. Houser has been solid but inconsistent all season long, and the Brewers could also deploy lefty Eric Lauer if the situation seems right.
Key Bullpen Pieces
- Josh Hader, LHP
- Brad Boxberger, RHP
- Brent Suter, LHP
- Hunter Strickland, RHP
The Brewers suffered a serious blow the week before the playoffs when setup ace Devin Williams broke his hand punching a wall while celebrating the Brewers' NL Central title. It seriously thins out a back-half that was also among the most dangerous in baseball this season.
That danger comes mostly in the form of Hader, who continues to be a human cheat code in the ninth inning. His absurd 15.5 K/9 ratio is one thing, but he has decreased his walk rate from a year ago and has only surrendered three home runs on the season.
It's a motley crew behind Hader with Williams out, but Boxberger, Suter, Strickland and others have all proved various degrees of reliable throughout the season.
