Braves vs. Phillies NLDS Breakdown and Prediction
The Philadelphia Phillies took down the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Wild Card round, and now all of our eyes are shifting to the Braves vs. Phillies matchup in the NLDS. The Phillies were the underdog in their Wild Card series, and they’ll be looking to upset the Braves. So, here are some predictions for this NLDS matchup.
Atlanta Braves are the Favorites
The reigning World Series champions will be looking to defend their title this season.
They started their season off pretty slow, but they came back late in the season to take the NL East from the New York Mets. Thanks to some great pitching from Max Fried, Kyle Wright, Charlie Morton, Spencer Strider, and other players, they were able to battle all the way back. And going into this series, their pitching will be looking to be just as dominant.
All around, Atlanta’s position players are very solid. The only problem for Atlanta right now is that Ozzie Albies won’t return just yet. It’s been reported that he could be back for the NLCS, but even that is not confirmed.
Atlanta’s hitting should be able to hold up against Philadelphia’s pitching. Their pitching isn’t too bad, but players like Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson, Dansby Swanson, and Austin Riley should be able to get a good amount of offense in.
The Phillies are the Underdogs Once Again
The Phillies upset the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card series, and they’ll be looking to keep it going in the NLDS.
One of the players that the Braves obviously have to be careful with is Bryce Harper. After all, Harper was one of the reasons that the Phillies won game two against the Cardinals with his 435 foot home run.
The Phillies have some good hitters on their roster, but the Braves also have some great pitchers on their team. But, the Phillies offense during the Wild Card wasn’t too bad against some good pitchers, so we’ll see if they can carry that over.
If the Phillies’ pitching can hold up in this series, then they could have a good chance of beating the Braves. But, this Braves’ offense might just be a little too good for them to completely shut Atlanta down.
Braves vs. Phillies: Winner Prediction
The Braves might just be a little too good for Philadelphia. You can probably expect Philadelphia to take at least one game in this series, but Atlanta winning the series in four games seems realistic.
