This article is part of our FanDuel MLB series.
Atlanta returns home in hopes of closing out this series, while an injury-laden Dodgers side hopes to stay alive and force Game 7 on Sunday. First pitch has been moved from 5:08 p.m. ET to 8:08 p.m. ET after the ALCS wrapped up last night.
Pitching Breakdown
Ian Anderson gets the ball for the Braves here. He allowed a .306 wOBA to righties and .276 to lefties during the regular season, neither of which seems targetable. Those numbers were slightly better at home, where Atlanta has made a clear effort to allow him to throw during the postseason. He was solid against Milwaukee in the NLDS (5.0 IP, 3 hits, 0 runs, 6 Ks) but had a quick hook in Game 2 against L.A., allowing two runs, three hits and three walks in three innings. Inefficiency is Anderson's Achilles heel. He walked 3.72 per nine during the regular season. With a rested bullpen that didn't throw any of their top options in Game 6, the leash figures to be short.
The Dodgers present as the exact opposite. After a bullpen game allowed them to survive Game 5, they have more questions Saturday. Max Scherzer has been scratched due to a tired arm. Are they going to use Walker Buehler on short rest, or go to a bullpen that just pieced together nine innings but is now without Joe Kelly and has added David Price? I'm a noted Braves' homer and want to keep telling myself there's no way this depleted Dodgers side can come back from 3-1 needing 18-plus innings from their bullpen. I hope I'm not eating crow Monday morning.
Hitter Correlation
Dodger bats litter the top tier of pricing, and if you're building around them, that seemingly starts with the more stable Mookie Betts ($9,500), who has yet to really shine this postseason, or a slightly cheaper Corey Seager ($8,500) who brings more power appeal — particularly against Atlanta, whom he decimated last season — and has already homered against twice in this series, but he's failed to record multiple knocks in any of the first five games. FanDuel seems to be doing us some great favors, however, with pricing. Cody Bellinger ($6,000) looks more like his MVP self than the .182 regular-season hitter he was, and he seems like a lock for high usage. Will Smith ($7,000) hasn't recorded a hit over the last two games but is a mainstay in the cleanup spot, always giving him a shot to scratch. He was second on the team behind Seager against righties during the regular season, posting a .385 wOBA.
After striking out seven straight times to close out the first two games in Atlanta, Freddie Freeman ($9,000) found his groove out West, homering twice while going 6-for-12 and posting three double-digit FanDuel point (FDP) outings. He leads the way for Braves lineup builds, and this entire offense otherwise seems to come at a bargain. Eddie Rosario ($6,000) hasn't seen his price rise, which is simply preposterous. He's hit safely in every postseason game and is 12-of-21 in this series with two homers, seven RBI and five runs scored. Austin Riley ($7,500) looks like the contrarian play from this lineup. After carrying this offense against Milwaukee, he collected three knocks and three RBI in the first two games of this series before going 0-for-13 in Los Angeles. He was this team's MVP during the regular season, and a return home hopefully gets him out of his funk.
One-offs
Chris Taylor ($8,000) homered three times in Game 5, has nine RBI in this series and has multiple hits in four of five games, resulting in double-digit FDP four times. The price has surged here however, and he's a guy that fanned 28.2 percent of the time against righties during the regular season. Keep an eye on this lineup before settling on yours. With injuries to Max Muncy ($6,500) and Justin Turner ($6,000), AJ Pollock ($6,500) hit in a favorable spot in Game 5. It's unlikely Albert Pujols ($4,500) draws a start against a righty, but we will likely see either Gavin Lux ($4,500) or Matt Beaty ($4,000), which gives a great pay down option to load up elsewhere.
Unlike the Dodgers, Atlanta doesn't have many surging bats outside of Rosario, and they also don't have many lineup questions. They've got a core of regulars you can consider on the cheap, with Adam Duvall ($5,500) likely the best of those, though Dansby Swanson ($5,000) and/or Travis d'Arnaud ($5,000) could be unsung heroes. Joc Pederson's ($5,500) shine has come off after three early postseason bombs, but I'd be surprised if Jorge Soler ($6,500) gets his first start after returning from the COVID list.
