Los Angeles Dodgers vs Atlanta Braves NLCS Game 6 Picks, Odds, Predictions 10/17/20

The Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers meet in game six of their best-of-seven NLCS series in MLB action from Globe Life Field on Saturday evening.

The Atlanta Braves will look to bounce back after dropping game five on Friday by a final count of 7-3. Travis d’Arnaud had two RBIs while Cristian Pache added an RBI as well to finish off the scoring for the Braves in defeat. Freddie Freeman went 2 for 4 at the dish with a pair of doubles while Marcell Ozuna, Austin Riley and Nick Markakis each had a base hit as well to finish off the offense for Atlanta in the loss. Will Smith took the loss in what ended up being a bullpen game for the Braves after allowing two earned runs in just one third of an inning. Max Fried will get the start here and is 0-0 with a 2.65 ERA and 18 strikeouts this postseason.

The Los Angeles Dodgers will look to force a game seven after their victory on Friday. Corey Seager and Will Smith each had a home run and two RBIs with Seager belting a pair of home runs while Smith had a three-run shot. Mookie Betts went 2 for 4 with an RBI to finish off the scoring for the Dodgers in the win while Justin Turner and Chris Taylor each had a double. A.J. Pollock and Enrique Hernandez each had a base hit as well to cap off the Dodger offense in defeat. Blake Treinen ended up with the win in relief after tossing two shutout innings of relief for the Dodgers. Walker Buehler will start here and is 0-0 with a 2.77 ERA and 23 strikeouts this postseason.

Atlanta is 8-2 in their last 10 games overall and 16-6 in their last 22 games against the NL West while the under is 7-3-1 in their last 11 Saturday games. Los Angeles is 39-13 in their last 52 games overall and 2-5 in their last 7 games against the NL East while the over is 6-1 in their last 7 games as a favorite.

I get why the Dodgers are favored, but it’s hard to justify it without a concrete pitching matchup to go off of. If days are right, It should be Max Fried for Atlanta and Walker Buehler for the Dodgers and if that’s the case, I’ll lean towards Atlanta here. The Braves did get to Clayton Kershaw earlier in the series but if the game goes seven, you’ll likely have a rookie in Ian Anderson against a staff ace like Kershaw, and even with Kershaw’s bumpy postseason history, it’s still an ace in a game 7 and that can be a daunting task if the pitches find the zone. I’ll side with Atlanta here.