Atlanta Braves vs. Los Angeles Dodgers: Game 4 Odds, Picks and Preview - 10/20/2021

Game time: 8:08 p.m. ET

Venue: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA

Where to watch: TBS

DraftKings: NL

BetMGM: NL

Caesars: NL

The Los Angeles Dodgers were on the verge of being sent into purgatory.

Then Cody Bellinger happened.

One swing of the bat in the bottom of the eighth inning gave the Dodgers life, and then Mookie Betts delivered the knockout blow. The Dodgers took Game 3 of the NLCS with a 6-5 win over the Atlanta Braves and cutting the series lead to 2-1.

Game 4 of this epic series returns to Dodger Stadium on Wednesday for perhaps the most important game of this postseason.

The Dodgers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first with a two-run shot from Corey Seager, giving Walker Buehler a perfect start to work with. Things were fine until the fourth when Joc Pederson, Adam Duvall and Dansby Swanson delivered with three consecutive RBI singles to give Atlanta the lead. Eddie Rosario, the hero from Game 2 with the walk-off hit, walked in the fourth run of the inning.

But the fortunes reversed in favor of the Dodgers after losing the first two games of this series in walk-off fashion. Bellinger, after two got aboard, took a 2-1 pitch deep to center field and sent the Dodger crowd into a frenzy. Then Betts took the first pitch he saw for a double to right field, sending Chris Taylor home for the go-ahead run.

“We were dead in the water, you could see it,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, whose club has now beaten the Braves in 13 of their last 14 meetings at Dodger Stadium. “Then to hit a homer, it just flipped everything. We’ve got a very good ballclub, but we just needed that kind of shot in the arm.”

The shot in the arm felt like a dead arm two nights ago, as in Max Scherzer’s dead arm that took him out of Game 2 much sooner than he’d like. Roberts’ decisions cost Los Angeles a tied series and put the fear of doubt into the reigning World Series champs. But Tuesday was yet another indicator that this series is far from over and continues to be the best thing going.

Sure, there’s the excitement of the ALCS and the barrage of runs that came in Game 4 for the Houston Astros on Tuesday night, but October baseball has been defined by these two teams shocking the world on more than one occasion and giving baseball playoffs something to hang its hat on.

“I think the guys have a lot of confidence in themselves and they will get a good night's sleep, have a nice dinner and be ready to go tomorrow,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “There's going to be no residual effects after this game here. There never has been with this group.”

The Braves have to be kicking themselves after starting pitcher Charlie Morton delivered five strong innings of work and striking out five. The fact that he walked six and still only allowed two earned runs was the best outcome for the Braves on the mound in this matchup.

Hell, they even chased Buehler after 3.2 innings and seven hits. Things were about as well as it could, and the Braves were five outs from a 3-0 lead.

And then the bullpen happened. Primarily, Luke Jackson happened. He gave up all four runs in that one-third of an inning he pitched. Then, in the blink of an eye, it was over.

“I was trying to throw a fastball up and away,” Jackson said. “I actually threw it better than I thought I threw it. Out of my hand, I was like, ‘Oh, that's a ball, it's too high.’ And no, it wasn't too high. It was, you know, a good player put a good swing on it and it was pretty remarkable.”

Betts, Will Smith and Chris Taylor combined for six of the Dodgers’ 10 hits, while Freddie Freeman got off the strikeout slide to go 3-for-4 from the No. 2 spot.

Julio Urias, fresh off that blown save earlier in the series, will get the start for the Dodgers in the ever-so-pivotal Game 4. The Braves, at the time of publishing, have not named a starter.

I can’t imagine the Dodgers have stolen the momentum in the series yet. The Braves did enough to win that game; all it took was one pitch. That being said, Urias on the mound seems like a surefire bet. He was dominant in the regular season for a reason, and his performance in the San Francisco NLDS gives pause to believe he can make something happen at home. Give me LA or give me death. Dodgers win 5-4

The Braves are 0-6 this season as a road underdog.

The Dodgers are 52-20 as a favorite of -175 to -250 this season.

Eddie Rosario (L) LF

Freddie Freeman (L) 1B

Ozzie Albies (S) 2B

Austin Riley (R) 3B

Joc Pederson (L) RF

Adam Duvall (R) CF

Travis d'Arnaud (R) C

Dansby Swanson (R) SS

TBD P

Mookie Betts (R) RF

Corey Seager (L) SS

Trea Turner (R) 2B

Will Smith (R) C

Justin Turner (R) 3B

Gavin Lux (L) CF

Cody Bellinger (L) 1B

Chris Taylor (R) LF

Julio Urias (L) P