Braves vs. Dodgers MLB Best Bets for April 18 (Archive)
The last two World Series champions meet in a rematch of last season’s NLCS when the Atlanta Braves travel to Los Angeles to take on the Dodgers.
The Braves, who knocked off L.A. last season to advance to the World Series, have struggled in their title defense early this season. They enter to play a game below .500 after splitting with the San Diego Padres. The Dodgers, who won it all in the COVID-shortened 2021 season, have won six straight and enter with the best record in baseball.
Keep reading for a full expert analysis and two winning MLB picks!
Atlanta Braves vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Monday, April 18, 2022 – 10:10 PM EDT at Dodger Stadium
Looking to Break Out
The last series the Braves won was the World Series, last October. Atlanta has opened this year by losing two of three to Washington and splitting four-game sets with the Reds and Padres.
Atlanta is looking to go on a run to pull away in the National League East, where they’re currently chasing the Mets. To do so, they’ll need to iron out some of the inconsistency that has plagued them early this season.
The Braves have struggled with control at times. Atlanta pitchers have hit seven batters so far, which is tied for third-most in the league. They’ve also walked 34 batters. The Braves have also had some bad luck on the mound and at the plate. Despite leading all of baseball in hard-hit rate, Atlanta batters are just 16th with a .234 average.
Join Now: $1,000 BMR 12-Week All Sports Challenge
While the Braves’ hard-hit balls are being caught, the pitchers are having the opposite problem. Atlanta’s staff has allowed the lowest hard-hit rate in all of baseball, but opposing hitters are lighting them up, posting the seventh-highest average against in MLB.
Big-ticket offseason pickup Matt Olson has been hitting. Sunday, he recorded his sixth multi-hit game in 11 games this season. Half of them have been three-hit games.
The Braves will open the series in Los Angeles with Huascar Ynoa on the mound. Atlanta got him an extra day of rest by giving Bryce Elder his second career start on Sunday night. Ynoa gave up five runs and took the loss against Washington in his first start of the year.
Emotional Reunions
In addition to being a rematch of last season’s National League Championship Series, the three games in Los Angeles will feature a pair of emotional reunions as two career players—one for each team—swapped squads in the offseason.
Kenley Jansen is the all-time leader in saves for the Dodgers organization. He spent 17 years as a member of the franchise’s organization and 12 years in the majors. As a free agent this past offseason, he and the Dodgers both thought he’d re-sign with the team to finish his career as a lifelong Dodger.
The two sides couldn’t agree on the length of his contract, however, allowing the Braves to swoop in and sign him. He’ll be making his first return to Los Angeles since leaving the Dodgers.
BMR Community: MLB Baseball Betting Forum
On the other side, former NL MVP Freddie Freeman, who caught the last out of last season’s World Series, and the Braves had a mutual interest in re-upping to allow the career Brave to stick with Atlanta.
The two sides entered the lockout thinking a deal was imminent, but the lockout allowed them to drift apart, and he signed with the Dodgers. He’ll be playing against his former teammates for the first time.
The Dodgers will start Clayton Kershaw in the opener. He pitched seven perfect innings before getting removed on a pitch count, beating the Twins in his first start of the season.
Best Bets
Clayton Kershaw looked unhittable his first time out. Look for the 34-year-old to come back to earth a little bit against a strong Braves offense. Meanwhile, Ynoa shouldn’t be as bad as he looked in his first outing. We’ll take the Braves with long MLB odds to post an upset in the first game in a low-scoring affair.
MLB Pick: Braves (+190) with BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
MLB Pick: Under 8 Runs (-103) with BetOnline
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.