SEATTLE -- The Braves have been the National League’s most successful team through this season’s first six weeks. The Dodgers are the two-time defending World Series champions.
Regardless of what happens this weekend at Dodger Stadium, both teams will enter next week with legit World Series aspirations. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be plenty of excitement and intensity surrounding the Braves-Dodgers three-game series that begins on Friday.
Here is a look at where the teams stand entering the three-game series:
Records
Braves: 26-12, NL-best .684 winning percentage, +79 run differential (best in MLB as of Thursday)
Dodgers: 23-14, .622 win pct., +77 run differential
Probables
Friday, 10:10 p.m. ET
Chris Sale (6-1, 2.14 ERA) vs. Emmet Sheehan (2-1, 5.23 ERA)
Sale has allowed one run or fewer over at least six innings in six of his first seven starts of the season. Sheehan has 18 strikeouts over his past 11 innings, but he also allowed four hits and three earned runs in the first inning of his most recent start on May 1 in St. Louis.
Saturday, 9:10 p.m. ET
Spencer Strider (0-0, 8.10 ERA) vs. Roki Sasaki (1-3, 5.97 ERA)
Strider struggled with command when he came off the injured list to make his season debut against the Rockies at Coors Field on Sunday. Sasaki’s 1.67 WHIP would rank last among MLB starters, but while completing five innings in just three of his six starts, he isn’t listed among the qualifiers.
Sunday, 4:10 p.m. ET
Bryce Elder (3-1, 2.02 ERA) vs. Justin Wrobleski (5-0, 1.25 ERA)
Elder has produced a 2.40 ERA over his past 15 starts going back to last year, and Wrobleski has allowed just two earned runs in the 32 innings he’s completed in five starts.
Who’s Hot
Braves: Matt Olson entered Wednesday leading the Majors with a 2.4 wins above replacement (per FanGraphs). He has hit four of his NL-leading 13 homers within the past six games.
Ozzie Albies has hit .386 with four homers and a 1.115 OPS over his past 15 games.
Drake Baldwin has a .911 OPS over his past seven games.
Dodgers: Max Muncy has an 1.054 OPS over his past 15 games.
Who’s Not
Braves: Past 15 games: Austin Riley (.491 OPS) and Mike Yastrzemski (.422 OPS)
Dodgers: Past 15 games: Shohei Ohtani (.748 OPS), Freddie Freeman (.628 OPS) and Teoscar Hernández (.486 OPS)
Trends: The Braves lost two of three this week in Seattle to suffer their first series loss of the season. But the team is 20-7 since last suffering consecutive losses April 4-6.
Atlanta has lost 21 of 27 games (postseason included) at Dodger Stadium since the start of 2017. The club won three straight games at the historic ballpark Aug. 31-Sept. 2, 2023. But the Braves have since lost seven straight road games against the Dodgers.
Los Angeles won 15 of its first 19 games, but it has since lost 10 of 18 games. The Dodgers have won three of their past four, and their slumbering offense scored eight runs against the Astros on Monday and 12 runs on Wednesday.