Dodgers could take advantage of run-down Braves, top pitcher in NLDS

Five weeks ago, Chris Sale was a problem for the Dodgers.In a 1-0 win for the Braves at Truist Park, Sale pitched a complete-game shutout, striking out 11 batters over nine innings.He allowed only five hits.He didn’t walk a batter.But the Dodgers won’t see Sale on the mound at Dodger Stadium on Saturday in Game 1 of their National League Division Series.They might not see him on Sunday in Game 2, either.Because Braves manager Walt Weiss made the baffling decision to turn to Sale with a four-run lead to close out the deciding game of an NL Wild Card Series against the Phillies, there’s a chance the Dodgers won’t have to face the former Cy Young Award winner until the third game of the best-of-five series.“A lot’s going to depend on how Chris feels,” Weiss said.With one of the top bullpens in baseball, the NL East champion Braves present a real threat to the Dodgers on paper.Reality won’t be nearly as dramatic.Defeating the Phillies came at an extreme cost for the Braves, who enter this series looking more like cannon fodder than a realistic challenger.“The Phillies series took a lot out of us, as far as our pitching,” Weiss said.That series stretched to three games, with the games played on consecutive days.Closer Raisel Iglesias, fireballer Didier Fuentes and left-hander Dylan Lee pitched on Tuesday and Wednesday, with Fuentes returning to pitch again in the series finale.In their bullpen game on Thursday, the Braves used six pitchers, including Sale, who was entrusted to take down the last four outs of a four-run game two days after he pitched 6 ⅓ innings in a Game 1 win.The way the Braves used their relievers in the wild-card matchup will handicap a bullpen that was one of the best of baseball in the regular season. “The advantage for us is we have an opportunity to not let their pitching staff come up for air,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.In fact, with Weiss saying that sidelined starters Martin Perez and Bryce Elder won’t retu...