Exclusive | Dodgers-Braves more than a series, first-round bye, home-field on the line
Tyler Glasnow is being thrown right back into the fire by the Dodgers.The former All-Star right-hander’s first start in almost three months will be on Tuesday in the opening game of the most important series that remains on their schedule.Dodgers versus Braves.Truist Park in suburban Atlanta.“I’m honestly just happy I get to go start,” Glasnow told the California Post.“It does make it cooler that it’s a meaningful game.
It’s a little more exciting.”This will be an October series played in August, as the three games in the middle of a notoriously tacky mixed-used development will have massive postseason implications.At stake: A bye in the Wild-Card round of the playoffs.Only two teams in each league will advance directly to a Division Series, and whether the Dodgers can hold on to the position that would grant them that distinction could ultimately determine whether they win a third consecutive World Series.The Dodgers have taken both routes to a title, with a first-round bye in 2024 and without one last year, but considering how up and down their aging and injury-ravaged lineup has performed this season, they don’t want to have to take their chances in a best-of-three Wild Card Series that will be over in a blink.Their offense goes cold for two games in a series like that, and it won’t just be Kyle Tucker being called a choker the entire winter.Manager Dave Roberts has emphasized the value of a first-round bye in recent weeks, and he repeated the message again after the Dodgers swept the lowly Pirates over the weekend.“It’s important,” Roberts said.With an 80-51 record, the Dodgers are one of three National League teams that remain in serious contention for a top-two seed.
One is the Milwaukee Brewers, who have the best record in the entire major leagues at 81-50 and are in line to have home-field advantage throughout the postseason.The other is the Braves, who are 76-55.The Braves have lost seven of their last 10 games, and the upcoming...