Manny Machado, Dodgers Advance to NLCS After Beating Braves to Win Series 3-1

The Los Angeles Dodgers advanced to the National League Championship Series for the third straight season after defeating the Atlanta Braves 6-2 on Monday at SunTrust Park in the 2018 MLB playoffs.

Rich Hill got the start for Los Angeles and allowed two runs in 4.1 innings of work.

With the Braves leading 2-1, David Freese put the Dodgers ahead with a two-run single in the top of the sixth. An inning later, Manny Machado tacked three more runs on the board with a homer off Braves reliever Chad Sobotka.

Manny Machado the Key to Ending Dodgers' World Series Drought

Machado went 1-for-12 in the first three games of the NLDS.

The four-time All-Star helped set the tone for Los Angeles with an RBI double in the first inning. Then came the three-run homer to provide the Dodgers with much-needed breathing room.

As good as Justin Turner and Corey Seager played for the Dodgers over the past two years, they don't match up with Machado when he's performing at his peak. He brings a different dimension to Los Angeles' offense, which is why the team gave up five prospects for a player who may only be a half-season rental.

According to FanGraphs, the Dodgers ranked 20th in weighted on-base average (.314) and 14th in weighted runs created plus (97) in 2016. They climbed to seventh (.330) and tied for fourth (104) in those two categories in 2017 and continued improving in 2018. Los Angeles is third in wOBA (.333) and tied for first in wRC+ (111).

Machado doesn't deserve sole credit for the team's offensive success since he only appeared in 66 games during the regular season. But he helped take what was already a good lineup—and one that had to replace Seager—and raised it to a new level.

If the Dodgers go on to win their first World Series since 1988, Machado will almost certainly be a big reason why.

Overachieving Braves Have Bright Future in 2019

Nothing can take the sting away from a playoff defeat, but Braves fans should be heartened by the fact that the best is yet to come for the franchise.

Success is never guaranteed, something to which one of Atlanta's division rivals can attest. The Washington Nationals could have nothing more than four NLDS appearances from the Bryce Harper era.

But the Braves are clearly a team on the rise and they might even be ahead of schedule by pushing the Dodgers to four games in the NLDS. Atlanta built a winning team in the short term while maintaining its massive potential for the future.

The core of the Braves' roster will be back in 2019, with Jonny Venters, Nick Markakis, Kurt Suzuki, Brad Brach and Anibal Sanchez their most notable free agents. More importantly, fans have seen Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuna only scratch the surface of what they can do in the majors.

Improving the starting rotation will be critical for Atlanta after its starters combined to finish 12th in FIP (3.99), per FanGraphs. Especially if they opt against re-signing Sanchez, the Braves will be looking to one of Kyle Wright or Mike Soroka, who are 23 and 21 respectively, to take a bigger role on the pitching staff.

With better starting pitching, the Braves won't need to push their bullpen so hard in the postseason, which was a problem in the NLDS.

Playoff Experience Gives Dodgers Edge in NLCS

The Milwaukee Brewers tied a franchise record by winning 96 games in the regular season.

They have an offense anchored by MVP candidate Christian Yelich, who can almost single-handedly swing a postseason series. In the NLDS, Milwaukee pitchers not named Jeremy Jeffress held the Colorado Rockies scoreless and limited Rockies hitters to eight hits over 24.2 innings.

The NLCS promises to be a close series in which the slimmest of margins will separate advancing to the World Series from a playoff exit.

Because of that, one can't help but think the Dodgers' collective experience in October will put them over the top.

Freese is a perfect example. He was the NLCS and World Series MVP in 2011 and a career .280 hitter in the playoffs entering Monday. The 35-year-old is great to bring off the bench in pinch-hit situations.

Then you include the veterans who have been around for all or some of the Dodgers' previous five playoff appearances. That's one of the benefits of being a big-market franchise that can consistently maintain one of MLB's highest payrolls.

Lorenzo Cain and Mike Moustakas won a World Series with the Kansas City Royals, and the Brewers will be calling upon those two to help navigate the franchise back to the Fall Classic.

From top to bottom, though, the Dodgers are the stronger team and have been battled-tested together in the playoffs.

Like the Braves, the Brewers might be headed for a year of heartbreak but have a good shot at making a World Series run over the next few seasons. 

What's Next?

The Dodgers head to Miller Park for Game 1 of the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday. The Brewers earned a series sweep of the Colorado Rockies with a 6-0 win Sunday.