NLDS Bracket 2020: TV Schedule, Early Odds and Series Predictions

The top two seeds in the National League asserted their dominance in the wild-card round to advance to the division series with relative ease. 

Now the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers will wait for the other wild-card series to end to find out their first opponents inside the Texas postseason bubble. 

Atlanta and Los Angeles combined for three shutouts in four games. The Dodgers were the only one of the two to allow any runs in the wild-card round.

With three days off between Game 2 of the wild-card series and NLDS Game 1, the pair of World Series contenders have a chance to reset their rotations and rest their bullpens. 

Atlanta will play either the Chicago Cubs or Miami Marlins in Houston, while the Dodgers will take on the winner of Game 3 between the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres in Arlington, Texas.

NLDS Schedule

Game 1s: Tuesday, October 6 (Times TBD, MLB Network/FS1)

Game 2s: Wednesday, October 7 (Times TBD, MLB Network/FS1)

Games 3s: Thursday, October 8 (Times TBD, MLB Network/FS1)

Game 4s (if necessary): Friday, October 9 (FS1)

Games 5s (if necessary): Saturday, October 10 (FS1)

Odds

To Win National League

Los Angeles Dodgers (-143, bet $100 to win $69.93)

Atlanta (+350, bet $100 to win $350)

San Diego (+700)

St. Louis (+1100)

Miami (+1200)

Chicago Cubs (+1300)

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Predictions

Atlanta Discovers More Power At Plate

John Bazemore/Associated Press

At the end of Game 2 against the Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta flexed some of the power it displayed for the majority of the regular season. 

Marcell Ozuna and Adam Duvall both hit long balls in the eighth inning off Raisel Iglesias to add insurance runs in the 5-0 victory. 

The late-inning power was a welcome sight after the Braves struggled at the plate in the opener by scoring a single run on Freddie Freeman's 13th-inning walk-off single. 

Atlanta finished second behind the Dodgers in regular-season home runs with 103, and it recorded nine more RBI than the NL's No. 1 seed. 

Brian Snitker's team also outperformed Los Angeles in batting average, OPS and on-base percentage. The two franchises finished with the same slugging percentage. 

If the Braves use the surge from their final at-bat in the wild-card round as a catalyst for the rest of the postseason, they could be difficult to contain. 

Atlanta's ideal NLDS matchup would be Miami. It went 6-4 against the Marlins in the regular season, and it has familiarity with the Marlins' pitching staff. 

A matchup with Kyle Hendricks, Yu Darvish and Jon Lester would likely be more difficult for Atlanta to manage since it failed to get a run off Trevor Bauer and Luis Castillo in the wild-card round. 

In either matchup, Atlanta's key will be pushing more runners across the plate to create more cushion for its young rotation in an attempt to put away the series early.

Clayton Kershaw Commands NLDS Starts

Ashley Landis/Associated Press

Clayton Kershaw delivered the most dominant playoff start of his career in Thursday's Game 2. 

The experienced southpaw fanned 13 Milwaukee batters and conceded three hits over eight innings at Dodger Stadium.

If the Dodgers get the same Kershaw that showed up Thursday, they could have an advantage in one or two NLDS matchups. 

Although his World Series outings were not great in the last few years, Kershaw pitched well in the buildup to the championship bouts. 

In 2017, he allowed six earned runs on 12 hits in three NLDS and NLCS appearances. In 2018, he conceded five earned runs on 11 hits in three starts, and he pitched a perfect relief inning in Game 7 of the NLCS versus Milwaukee.

If the Dodgers end up with the Padres, Kershaw should be able to manage his way through the San Diego lineup.

In his lone regular-season start against San Diego, the left-handed hurler struck out nine batters and gave up three earned runs on five hits in 6.1 innings. 

That start was on the high end of earned runs by the standard Kershaw set over 10 appearances. He allowed multiple runs on three occasions against AL and NL West opposition.

The Dodgers could use Kershaw in Tuesday's Game 1 on four days rest so they could have him available for a potential Game 5. 

If he starts Game 1, Kershaw could give the Dodgers an early advantage that could be hard for the Cardinals or Padres to make up.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90

Statistics obtained from Baseball Reference