Dodgers vs. Braves: How they match up

SCHEDULE

Game 1

Thursday, 5:30 p.m. PDT

@ Atlanta, TBS

Game 2

Friday, 3 p.m. PDT

@ Atlanta, TBS

Game 3

Sunday, Time TBA

at Dodgers, TBS

Game 4*

Monday, Time TBA

@Dodgers, TBS/MLB

Game 5*

Wednesday, Time TBA

@ Atlanta, TBS

* if necessary

LINEUPS

Dodgers

POS. | PLAYER, AVG., HR, RBI, COMMENT

RF | Yasiel Puig, .319, 19, 42

Hit .214 in September but also homered six times

LF | Carl Crawford, 283, 6, 31

Has gone 72 at-bats without a walk

1B | Adrian Gonzalez, .293, 22, 100

Batted .323 with runners in scoring position

SS | Hanley Ramirez, .345, 20, 57

Average fell 70 points, to .316, in the second half

3B | Juan Uribe, .278, 12, 50

.331 on-base percentage is a career high

C | A.J. Ellis, .238, 10, 52

Led NL by seeing 4.37 pitches per plate appearance

2B | Mark Ellis, .270, 6, 48

Hitting .364 when down 0-2 in the count

CF | Skip Schumaker, .263, 2, 30

Hitting .400 vs. the Braves over the last two years

P | Clayton Kershaw, .182, 1, 10

L.A. led NL pitchers in six offensive categories

Braves

POS. | PLAYER, AVG., HR, RBI, COMMENT

CF | Jason Heyward, .254, 14, 38

Missed four of the last six weeks with broken jaw

RF | Justin Upton, .263, 27, 70

Tied for fourth in the National League in home runs

1B | Freddie Freeman, .319, 23, 109

Finished third in the league in batting and RBIs

LF |Evan Gattis, .243, 21, 65

Homered every 16.9 at-bats, one of NL best rates

C | Brian McCann, .256, 20, 57

Limited to 16 games in September by a groin injury

3B | Chris Johnson, .321, 12, 68

Finished second in the race for the NL batting title

SS | Andrelton Simmons, .248, 17, 59

Slick fielder topped the Braves with six triples

2B | Elliot Johnson, .209, 2, 19

Strong September (.277) won him starting job

P | Kris Medlen, ..064, 1, 4

One of three pitchers to homer and steal a base

Powerful statement: No NL team struck out more often than the Braves, but no team homered more often either. Atlanta also has two of the league’s top three hitters in Chris Johnson and Freddie Freeman. What the Braves can’t do is manufacture runs: Only three NL teams had fewer stolen bases. Offense has been an even bigger challenge for the Dodgers, who outscored only two winning teams this season. Since clinching the division, the Dodgers have been held to two or fewer runs six times in nine games, making the loss of Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier’s limited role even more costly. Edge: Braves

ROTATION

Dodgers

PITCHER, W-L, ERA, COMMENT

Clayton Kershaw, 16-9, 1.83

Only L.A. Dodger with ERA under 2.00 besides Koufax

Zack Greinke, 15-4, 2.63

7-1 record, 1.49 ERA in last two months

Hyun-Jin Ryu, 14-8, 3.00

Only Kershaw had more wins, lower ERA among NL lefties

Ricky Nolasco, 13-11, 3.70

12.75 ERA last three starts

Braves

PITCHER, W-L, ERA, COMMENT

Kris Medlen, 15-12, 3.11

Led the majors with nine wins after the All-Star break

Mike Minor, 13-9, 3.21

Four of last five outings were quality starts (Braves lost them all)

Julio Teheran, 14-8, 3.20

Held opponents to a .210 average in the second half

Armed and ready: Dodgers starters led the majors with 22 shutouts and an ERA of 3.13. They led the NL with seven complete games and 841 strikeouts. Much of that has been the work of Kershaw and Greinke (a combined 31-13 with a 2.18 ERA). The rotation drops off after that; Ryu and Nolasco were 3-5 with a 4.19 ERA in September. Atlanta’s rotation is also top-heavy and the Braves might use only three starters. Medlen gave up more than a run only once in his last six starts, Minor was sixth in the NL in quality starts and Teheran set a rookie record with 170 strikeouts. Edge: Dodgers

BULLPEN

Dodgers

PITCHER, W-L-S, ERA, COMMENT

Kenley Jansen, 4-3-28, 1.88

One blown save since June; 111 strikeouts in 76 2/3 IP on season

Ronald Belisario, 5-7-1, 3.97

Right-hander has given up 10 runs, 12 hits last 11 IP

Paco Rodriguez, 3-4-2, 2.32

Leads lefties with 76 appearance; 5.68 ERA in September

Brian Wilson, 2-1-0, 0.66

Gave up one run in 18 games since joining team in August

Chris Withrow, 3-0-1, 2.60

Permitted only one run, two hits last 10 2/3 innings

J.P. Howell, 4-1-0, 2.03

Left-handers batting .164 against him

Braves

PITCHER, W-L-S, ERA, COMMENT

Craig Kimbrel, 4-3-50, 1.21

Led National League closers in saves and ERA

Luis Avilan, 5-0-0, 1.52

Lefty setup man has 27 holds

David Carpenter, 4-1-0, 1.78

Gave up only one run in last 14 outings

Freddy Garcia, 1-2-0, 1.65

Probably will be used only as long man if needed

Luis Ayala, 1-1-0, 2.90

Journeyman pitching for eighth team in eight years

Jordan Walden, 4-3-1, 3.45

Ex-Angels closer missed three weeks with a groin injury

Southern comfort: With a baseball-best 2.46 ERA, a league-low 15 losses and 53 saves, the Braves’ bullpen is by far the best in the majors. It’s deep too, with five relievers making at least 50 appearances and four posting ERAs better than 1.80. The Dodgers took some time to get their relief corps straightened out, but with Jansen, Wilson and Howell pitching ¿well in September — they combined for a 1.14 ERA in 31 2/3 innings — the Dodgers need only seven innings from their starters. Turning to the bullpen before that, however, could spell trouble. Edge: Braves

RESERVES

Dodgers

POS. | PLAYER, AVG., HR, RBI, COMMENT

OF| Andre Ethier, .272, 12, 52

Leg injury will limit him to pinch-hitting duty

IF | Michael Young, .279, 8, 46

Has played in seven postseason series since 2010

IF | Nick Punto, .255, 2, 21

Making his fourth visit to the postseason

C | Tim Federowicz, .231, 4, 16

Backup catcher isn’t likely to play much

OF | Jerry Hairston, .211, 2, 21

Versatile veteran adds stability and depth

IF | Dee Gordon, .234, 1, 6

If Ethier makes roster, so does Gordon to pinch-run

Braves

POS. | PLAYER, AVG., HR, RBI, COMMENT

OF | Jose Constanza, .258, 0, 3

Had seven at-bats since July 29; replaces Uggla

OF | Jordan Schafer, .247, 3, 21

Leads team with 22 steals and provides OF depth

C | Gerald Laird.281, 1, 13

Could play some with McCann battling groin injury

IF | Paul Janish, .171, 0, 2

Gives Braves depth at three infield positions

OF | Reed Johnson, .244, 1, 11

Batted .297 in 37 pinch-hit at-bats

OF | B.J. Upton, .184, 9, 26

Roster spot up in the air after hitting .106 in final month

Visitors are more versatile: Dodgers pinch-hitters batted only .208 this season, nearly 40 points below the Braves. But the Braves left Dan Uggla (.179) off the roster, kept B.J. Upton (.184) and added seldom-used Jose Constanza, giving the Dodgers a huge edge on the bench. Versatility is also important to L.A. because Manager Don Mattingly likes to make double-switches; that raises Hairston’s value because he has played five positions. Punto and Young give L.A. an edge in experience, especially in the postseason. Edge: Dodgers.

PREDICTION

Pitching generally wins in the postseason and if the Dodgers have the edge there. But they’ll have to score early because they won’t come back against Atlanta’s bullpen. The first two games of the series will be key, with the Dodgers starting Kershaw and Greinke in Atlanta, where the Braves had baseball’s best home record. But guess who had the majors’ best road record: the Dodgers, who will come back to Atlanta to win the series. Dodgers in five