Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Atlanta Braves Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 6/25/2022

Time: 7:15 p.m. ET

Venue: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA

Where to watch: FOX

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Dodgers: 43-25

Braves: 41-30

You think Freddie Freeman is ready for the Atlanta Braves? At the very least, he used the Cincinnati Reds as target practice heading into this much-anticipated series. The Los Angeles Dodgers got a much-needed sweep, and now the Dodgers return to the scene of the crime, facing Freeman's former team and the group that knocked them out of the playoffs en route to Atlanta winning the World Series.

The series begins Friday, so Freeman's emotional return will have already hit by the time this game gets underway. He will have already felt the swoon of emotion from the Atlanta faithful, the crowd that he played in front of for a decade, and brought a championship to. Now, he's trying to do that in Dodger Blue, which makes sense. The Braves went in another direction, but clearly Freeman is reaping the benefits of being in his hometown.

Freeman homered for the third time in four games Thursday in L.A.'s 10-5 win over the Reds to complete the sweep. He will carry a seven-game hitting streak into Atlanta, in which during that time he's pushed his average from .286 to .303. His four homers in June are already the most he's had in a month since he came to the Dodgers. He has 16 RBI this month, with 10 of them coming in this sweep of the Reds.

So, safe to say, the former MVP is ready. Or at least by the time you read this, he will be with no other choice.

"I haven't really thought about it yet," he said. "Just looking forward to getting home and seeing my family. They've been in Atlanta for a couple days. I've been asked a couple times, and I just kind of say no, not (talking) right now. All I care about is getting home to my family. Tomorrow you can ask me those questions, and I'll see what kind of emotions I have going on tomorrow."

Freeman became the latest big name in a large number of them that the Dodgers have acquired, all with the hopes of adding another World Series championship or two to the mantle from the COVID-shortened championship in 2020.

But if there's one thing about the Dodgers is that they're able to get by without a lot of key names, which shows how deep this team is. Walker Buehler is on the 60-day IL and it's unsure when he'll be back. Mookie Betts may be on the mend soon after cracking a rib; Dustin May is hurt, so is Kevin Pillar. Danny Duffy may or may not come back to bolster an already-strong pitching rotation.

This group, at the very least, can hit. Trea Turner continues to be a terrific addition (no surprise) batting .312 after going 3-for-5 on Thursday. Max Muncy, albeit batting .170, went 3-for-4 with a homer and there's hope he can turn it around. Gavin Lux is a .284 batter and Chris Taylor can be better than a .252 clip, we saw that in the playoffs.

"We're getting hits. It's baseball. It's hard," Freeman said. "We've been going through ups and downs through the season and we're on the ups right now."

The Dodgers are in a dog fight with the San Diego Padres for the top of the NL West. The San Francisco Giants have fallen off a tad this year, and are coming off losing three of four to the Braves. This series will already be one of the more important in terms of the hierarchy in the National League, and that doesn't even include the New York Mets.

"Just a fantastic performance across the board," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said.

I had the Dodgers winning Friday with Julio Urias on the mound. Saturday, I turn to the pitching matchup again and like where Max Fried is playing right now. He's pitching like the ace of this group and the Braves do have the arms at the top of the rotation to make them formidable. Atlanta settles down and at least takes Saturday's matchup. Braves win 6-4

Dodgers are 23-13 on the road this season, 95-58 the past three seasons.

Dodgers are 9-8 against NL East teams this season.

Braves are 9-15 this season when the line is between +125 and -125.

Dodgers:
Trea Turner (R) SS
Freddie Freeman (L) 1B
Will Smith (R) DH
Max Muncy (L) 2B
Chris Taylor (R) RF
Justin Turner (R) 3B
Gavin Lux (L) LF
Cody Bellinger (L) CF
Austin Barnes (R) C
SP - Andrew Heaney

Braves:
Ronald Acuna Jr. (R) RF
Dansby Swanson (R) SS
Marcell Ozuna (R) DH
Matt Olson (L) 1B
William Contreras (R) C
Orlando Arcia (R) 3B
Adam Duvall (R) LF
Phil Gosselin (R) 2B
Michael Harris II (L) CF
SP - Max Fried

Batting average: Trea Turner -- .312

Home runs: Mookie Betts -- 17

RBI: Trea Turner -- 51

Wins: Tony Gonsolin -- 9

ERA: Tony Gonsolin -- 1.58

Batting average: Dansby Swanson -- .302

Home runs: Austin Riley -- 18

RBI: Austin Riley -- 41

Wins: Two tied -- 7

ERA: Max Fried -- 2.77