LOS ANGELES -- While the Braves were busy pressing all the right buttons in their National League Wild Card Series win over the rival Phillies this week, the Dodgers were resting and waiting on the West Coast.
So now it's time to find out just how much Atlanta can ride that wave of momentum into this heavyweight NL Division Series showdown, which begins with Game 1 on Saturday afternoon at Dodger Stadium.
"I think they pitch pretty well. Obviously, they have some phenomenal hitters in their lineup," Braves catcher Sean Murphy said of the Dodgers. "But I would say we have the same strengths. At the end of the day, it's baseball. We've got to win three games out of five -- and I'll take us over everybody."
So what's going to determine which team wins the race to three victories?
Let's dive into the four biggest factors in this NLDS matchup:
1. Starting rotations
Sure, this one is obvious. But while starting pitching is perhaps the biggest factor in any postseason series, it's especially notable in this particular matchup.
The Dodgers have a fully rested, star-studded rotation waiting to be deployed in whatever order manager Dave Roberts decides. The Braves, meanwhile, "barely had enough starters" to get through the Wild Card Series, per manager Walt Weiss.
Atlanta will still be without injured starters Bryce Elder or Martín Pérez. So the Braves are once again going to have to piece it together as they did against the Phillies -- but that's a much tougher task in a best-of-five series.
The Braves hope Chris Sale is good to go for Game 2 after Thursday's relief appearance to close out the Wild Card Series. They should have Tyler Mahle for Game 3.
The rest? Well ...
“The Phillies series took a lot out of us as far as our pitching,” Weiss said Friday morning. “We had to empty the tank, really, to win that series, and it was certainly worth doing it because we needed to win that series. But now, it's on to the next step.”
The only question on the Dodgers' side is who starts which game. They named Tarik Skubal their Game 1 starter, while Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow are waiting in the wings.
"I think that we have such talented starters," Skubal said. "I think you can roll out any of us in any situation and you're going to be in a really good spot."
2. Did the Braves' biggest strength get even stronger?
Atlanta had one of the league's best bullpens during the regular season, posting a 3.44 ERA (fourth in MLB) and a 1.19 WHIP (second in MLB). So while the bullpen was always going to play a pivotal role for the Braves, it may have unlocked another level.
With Sale coming out of the bullpen to neutralize Bryce Harper late in Thursday's series-clinching victory, it makes you wonder if Sale could do something similar in the NLDS.
The Braves aren't going to run Sale into the ground. They’re yet to even commit to him starting Game 2. But as the series gets deeper, don’t be surprised if Sale talks his way into a high-leverage opportunity against left-handed superstars Shohei Ohtani and/or Freddie Freeman.
3. Speaking of Ohtani ...
Though it's obviously still a formidable group, you may have noticed Ohtani's name missing from the Dodgers' rotation plans. He is not expected to pitch this postseason after dealing with injuries to his left knee and right biceps down the stretch.
But make no mistake: Ohtani can still take over a game -- or a series -- with his bat.
Remember his three-homer game in last year's NL pennant-clinching win over the Brewers? (And yes, he also had 10 K's that day.) Or his insane performance in Game 3 of the World Series, when he reached base in all nine trips to the plate (two homers, two doubles and five walks) in the Dodgers' 18-inning win over the Blue Jays?
Ohtani had eight homers, 14 RBIs and 16 walks in 17 games last postseason. He has 11 homers in just 33 career playoff games. He has a .940 postseason OPS.
But is he healthy?
"It feels really good overall," Ohtani said of his swing via an interpreter on Friday afternoon at Dodger Stadium. "I do feel like my swing is in a better place, feels smooth. Just a little tweak here and there, and I'll be ready for tomorrow."
4. Atlanta has plenty of star power, too
The Braves' biggest contributions in their Wild Card Series win over the Phillies came from rather unexpected sources.
Austin Riley played the hero with a massive three-run homer later in Game 1. Michael Harris II smashed a tone-setting three-run shot of his own early in Game 3. Ozzie Albies had a clutch triple in Game 1 and a big two-run homer in Game 3.
Meanwhile, Ronald Acuña Jr. went just 1-for-9 with a single. He's now just 8-for-38 (.211) in 11 postseason games going back to 2022. He hasn't homered in the playoffs since Game 1 of the 2020 NLDS.
But Acuña is certainly the type of player who has the potential to meet the moment against the back-to-back reigning champion Dodgers.
And the Braves will almost certainly need him to be peak Acuña vs. Ohtani and Co.