Who Will the Dodgers Play in the NLDS?

Maren Angus-Coombs | Sep 30, 2024

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Dodgers are gearing up for their next game on Saturday, where they'll host Game 1 of the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium.

Their opponent is still up in the air, but it’ll be a familiar face—either the San Diego Padres or the Atlanta Braves.

#Dodgers players have organized a WIld Card watch party with the team on Tuesday and Wednesday. Max Muncy, Miguel Rojas, and Will Smith organized according to Dave Roberts. #Dodgers #NLDS

— David Vassegh (@THEREAL_DV) September 29, 2024

As the top seed in the National League and with the best record in baseball this season, the Dodgers have secured home-field advantage throughout the postseason. They'll face the winner of the Wild Card Series, which features the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds.

The Padres, as the No. 4 seed, have home-field advantage for their best-of-three Wild Card Series.

The Dodgers' history against the Padres this season hasn't been great, going 5-8, but they do have momentum after taking two of three from San Diego last week and clinching the division.

The last time these teams met in the playoffs was in 2022 when the Padres upset the Dodgers in five games after Los Angeles’ record-breaking 111-win regular season.

Speaking of records, the Dodgers set a franchise-best that year for both wins and winning percentage. They also led the league with the best run differential, posting a plus-334, outpacing the Yankees (+240) and the Braves (+180). But as we know, the playoffs don’t care about regular season stats.

As for the Braves, the Dodgers have seen them three times in the postseason since 2018, most recently in 2021 when Atlanta won the NLCS in six games en route to a World Series title. That series was a flip from 2020 when the Dodgers beat the Braves in seven games before winning the World Series against the Rays. Atlanta’s 2021 pennant was their first since 1999, and they pulled off an impressive run after not even reaching a winning record until August 6 that year.

No matter who the Dodgers face in the NLDS, they'll be ready. They may not be at full strength, but as long as they find the timely hitting that's eluded them in past postseasons, they should be poised for a much stronger playoff run.