The Braves made the gutsy decision to hold ace Chris Sale back from Game 2 of the NL Division Series against the Dodgers, and it paid major dividends. Now Atlanta returns home for Game 3 this evening with the former NL Cy Young winner on the mound and a chance to take a 2-1 series lead over the two-time World Series champions. Bet $5+ on any of today’s MLB games to get $150 in bonus bets at DraftKings Sportsbook:
Only the National League has games tonight, and first pitch in Atlanta is scheduled for 6 ET on FS1 from Truist Park. The weather looks great, with sunny skies and a high of 76 degrees with winds blowing in at about 8 mph. With the teams basically a pick’em on the money line, L.A. is taking 56% of handle and 66% of wagers. The first total of 6 this postseason is seeing split action.
The Dodgers are still -150 favorites on the series line, with the Braves +125. Sure feels like it’s going five games to me, and L.A. in five is the +220 leader.
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Dodgers vs. Braves MLB same-game parlay
- Atlanta +1.5
- No runs second inning
- Race to six runs: Neither
DraftKings SGP price: +149 (subject to change)
When the Braves used Sale for 1.1 innings of late relief, totaling 21 pitches, to close out Game 3 of the Wild-Card Round against Philadelphia, that meant he would have had to come back on three days’ rest Sunday. That was the tentative original plan, but Braves manager Walt Weiss chose to “err on the side of giving him rest” and went with a bullpen game Sunday at Dodger Stadium.
“At the end of the day, we want full-strength Chris Sale. …. Not sure you’re getting the best version of him pitching [Sunday]. We’re certain we will pitching him Game 3,” Weiss said.
It couldn’t have worked out better for Atlanta in the 3-2 win as Weiss used six different pitchers and they held the Dodgers to 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Opener Ray Kerr recorded only three fewer outs than L.A.’s Blake Snell, a two-time Cy Young Award winner. You can use all those arms when you have such frequent days off in between games. But that won’t be the case ahead of Game 4.
Sunday’s victory snapped Atlanta’s seven-game road postseason losing streak, tied for the second longest active in the majors. Its last away win was the clinching Game 6 of the 2021 Fall Classic in Houston. Sunday also snapped the Dodgers’ 11-game postseason winning streak when outhomering their opponent.
The 37-year-old Sale (14-9, 2.16 ERA) made 25 of his 27 regular-season starts on five or more days off in between. He took a no-decision in Game 1 of the Wild-Card Round vs. Philadelphia, allowing three runs and four hits with nine strikeouts over 6.1 innings. Then he had those 1.1 scoreless innings with three Ks in relief in Game 3. Sale didn’t have very good career playoff numbers entering 2026.
He was 1-1 with a 1.13 ERA .172 opponents’ batting average in two starts this year against the Dodgers, with 18 strikeouts over 16.0 innings. He last saw them on Aug. 27 at Truist Park and threw a complete-game five-hitter with 11 Ks and zero walks for a game score of 88.0 that was a season high. It was his first complete game since 2019, with Boston at Kansas City. It was Sale’s fourth career shutout as he outdueled Yoshinobu Yamamoto — who goes tonight as well.
The SportsLine Projection Model forecasts Sale for 5.9 innings, 6.9 strikeouts, 5.4 hits allowed and 2.3 earned runs tonight. He’s +186 to win and +418 for at least 10 strikeouts. A pair of former league MVPs have had some success off him with Mookie Betts at 7-for-18 with three doubles and a homer, while Freddie Freeman is 5-for-16 with two homers and two doubles. Shohei Ohtani is only 3-for-15 off him with no HRs and five Ks.
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While the Dodgers couldn’t get a hit with RISP in Game 2, maybe former Brave Freeman broke out of his slump with a fourth-inning solo homer. To that point, he hadn’t recorded an extra-base hit since Sept. 2 and batted .167 with 21 strikeouts over the final 18 regular-season games. Sunday’s homer gave L.A. a 1-0 lead; 13 of Freeman’s 17 career postseason home runs have tied the game or put his team in the lead. Only Houston’s Jose Altuve (14) has more such homers in postseason history.
The righty Yamamoto (14-9, 2.53 ERA) makes his 2026 playoff debut, and boy has he been good in his two previous postseasons, going 7-1 with a 2.25 ERA in 10 career outings with a 0.84 WHIP while holding hitters to a .176 average. Remember, he beat Toronto in Game 6 of the 2025 World Series and then saved Game 7. It was an amazing performance that earned Yamamoto World Series MVP honors.
The 28-year-old was terrific this year in leading the Dodgers with 28 starts and setting career highs in wins, innings pitched (185.0) and quality starts (22). Yamamoto was among NL leaders in quality starts (T-1), WHIP (0.97, second), opponents’ average (.182, second) and opponents’ OPS (.546, second). Yamamoto’s 1.77 ERA on the road was second in the NL and third in the majors.
He lost his lone start against the Braves this year in Atlanta opposite Sale on Aug. 27, allowing one run and four hits over 6.1 innings. The model forecasts Yamamoto at 6.5 innings, 6.2 strikeouts, 4.3 hits allowed and 2.3 earned runs. He’s +167 to win and has an Over/Under outs total of 17.5, compared to 18.5 for Sale, although Over is -235.
Michael Harris, having a big postseason for Atlanta already, is 2-for-6 with a walk career off him. Ronald Acuna Jr., on a 22-game playoff homerless skid, has never faced Yamamoto officially.
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The model has the Braves ever so slightly at 3.9-3.8. I opted for no runs in the second inning instead of the first because we get the lower half of the order, in theory, and if there are any butterflies for either pitcher they should be gone by then. With a total of just 6, it’s sure hard to see how either team gets to 6 itself. Check out other expert picks in the SportsLine daily newsletter.
