Braves vs Dodgers Odds, Picks, and Probable Pitchers (Sep. 1)

• The Los Angeles Dodgers are home favorites over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night
• The Braves send Max Fried (11-7, 3.54) to the mound to face Max Scherzer (12-4, 2.51)
• The odds and pitching matchups can be found below with a prediction

The Los Angeles Dodgers continue their chase of the San Francisco Giants for the top spot in the National League West — and the best record in MLB — when they close out a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves at 10:10 pm ET, Wednesday, at Dodger Stadium.

LA has been lights out in August, closing out the month with a 21-6 mark after Tuesday’s 3-2 win over Atlanta. The Boys in Blue have been incredible, but unable to gain much ground in the division race thanks to San Fran going 19-9 over that same stretch in the dog days. The NL East-leading Braves have gone 18-8 in the same timeframe. But with three-time NL Cy Young Award-winner Max Scherzer on the bump, the home team is the favorite in the finale of the 2020 NLCS rematch.

Braves vs Dodgers Odds

Odds as of August 31st at DraftKings.

Probable Pitchers

On the mound, Atlanta’s Max Fried (11-7, 3.54) faces Max Scherzer (12-4, 2.51).

Fried hasn’t quite picked up where he left off last season — when he was a perfect 7-0 in 11 starts with a 2.25 ERA in the pandemic-shortened season. But the lefty has still been really good. 13 of his 22 starts in 2021 have been of the quality vintage, including his last six turns in the rotation. The 27-year-old LA native has been especially filthy since July 28th, sporting a 4-1 record with a paltry 1.58 ERA . Atlanta is 5-1 over the dazzling stretch. Fried tossed his first career shutout August 20th against the Orioles in Baltimore, scattering four hits while allowing no walks and striking out four. He needed only 90 pitches in the 3-0 victory.

Fried vs Scherzer Key Stats

Fried got a no-decision in his last outing Friday at Truist Park, going six innings and allowing five hits, three earned runs and no walks while striking out five in an eventual 6-5 Braves win over the Giants.

Fried is 5-4 with a 3.98 ERA in 11 road starts this season. In 15 night game starts, he has a 7-6 record and 3.39 ERA. If Fried had started Monday — a 5-3 Atlanta loss — perhaps the outcome would have been different.

Atlanta Braves are now 16-0 since August 1, 2019 when Max Fried starts in August.

— Joe Pellegrini (@thewiseguysedge) August 28, 2021

As for Scherzer, the 37-year-old future Hall of Famer has settled into the Dodger rotation quite nicely since joining Big Blue. 15 of his 24 starts (and three of his five in LA) this season have been quality ones. His last outing — an eventual 4-0 win over the Padres last Thursday in San Diego — was especially brilliant. Scherzer went 7.2 innings, giving up only two hits, no earned runs and walked one while striking out ten.  It was the fourth time this season Scherzer reached double-digits in punchouts.

Max Scherzer has 103 10-strikeout games in his career.

5th most all-time. pic.twitter.com/4i9wpr3EQV

— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) August 27, 2021

The veteran right-hander is 4-2  with a 2.31 ERA in 11 home starts (nine at Nationals Park and two at Dodger Stadium) in 2021. He’s 7-2 with a 2.74 ERA in 14 night game starts.

Hot-LA-nta

As noted above, the Braves have been one of the hotter teams in baseball — with Fried a big reason why. But Atlanta has had plenty of offense, too. Jorge Soler has been particularly dangerous at the plate of late, going 7-for-20 (.350) in the last five games. That includes three home runs and five runs driven in. He’s been even better over the last week-plus.

#Braves' Jorge Soler in his past 9 games: .367 (11-for-30) with 4 homers, 8 RBIs, 8 runs scored.

— David O'Brien (@DOBrienATL) August 30, 2021

Joining Soler in the over-.300 batting average club over the same timeframe are Austin Riley and Ozzie Albies. The dynamic duo have gone a combined 14-for-39 (.359) at the plate with a pair of dingers and five RBI.

Batting Average vs Starting Pitchers

Not surprisingly, none of the Braves hitters in Wednesday’s projected lineup have hit Scherzer well.

The same cannot be said for his fellow Max. Justin Turner is the big headliner here, going 5-for-7 lifetime against Fried, including a double and a home run.

The Dodgers, as is typically the case, have the advantage when it comes to lineups.

Braves vs Dodgers Pick

Considering Atlanta has dropped the first two in the series and Fried has been utterly dominant of late, I’m taking the value play and fading the home favorites in this spot.

Look for the NL East leaders — behind a big fly off Scherzer — to salvage the series and hand LA a defeat as the Dodgers head to the City By the Bay for a pivotal three-game series against the Giants following Wednesday’s tilt.

The Pick: Braves moneyline (+165)