MLB Baseball
2026-10-07 - Los Angeles Dodgers at Atlanta Braves
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : MLB Playoff Divisional Round Game 4
Wednesday 7th October 2026 - Scheduled 6pm EST
11pm (British Time)
Preview
Once again, the Atlanta Braves will be looking to stave off elimination in the 2026 Playoffs after losing a pivotal Game 3 to the two time defending World Champions.
Game 3 was every bit as tight and competitive as fans would have expected, but the power in the Los Angeles Dodgers batting lineup proved to be the difference on Tuesday. Two Home Runs led to three runs and that was all the Dodgers needed to take a 2-1 lead in this Divisional Round Series and with a chance to close it out instead of having to play a potential decider at home.
Both the Dodgers and the Braves will ready the bullpens early in this important game with the season on the line for the home team. However, both will also begin with a Tyler starting and will be hoping that the pitcher can go as deep as possible.
It may feel more important for the Braves than the Dodgers having dipped into the bullpen earlier than they would have planned- Chris Sale did complete 5 Innings, but Yoshinobu Yamamoto completed 7 Innings and that does put some pressure on the Atlanta starter.
Tyler Mahle arrived in a trade from the San Francisco Giants and had a 4-1 record with a 1.99 ERA in his nine regular season starts made for Atlanta. Credit has to be given to Tyler Mahle for throwing 7 Innings and allowing a single run in his first ever Playoff start when facing the Philadelphia Phillies in the Wild Card Round, although the Braves were not able to back him up as hoped and ended up losing on the night.
He did not start against the Los Angeles Dodgers in this uniform, but Tyler Mahle did throw 7 Innings against them when playing for the Giants earlier this season and did not give up a single run in that outing.
Last season Mahle did the same when playing for the Texas Rangers as he completed another 7 Innings without allowing a run against the Dodgers.
Atlanta are going to need that magic on the mound, but will also be looking for a way to get their own bats firing again having struggled fo runs in all three games in the Divisional Round.
The Braves will be facing Tyler Glasnow who made just thirteen regular season starts this season and finished with a 5-2 record and 3.53 ERA. Tyler Glasnow missed a couple of months of action between May and August and he returned to make six regular season starts and had a 2-2 record and 4.46 ERA in those.
One of those starts was made against the Atlanta Braves and Tyler Glasnow allowed three runs in 5 Innings thrown against them.
Injuries had restricted Tyler Glasnow in the regular season in 2025 as well, but the Dodgers will take a lot of confidence from the fact Glasnow had a 1.69 ERA in six Playoff appearances. Three of those six 2025 Playoff appearances were made in starts and Tyler Glasnow had a 1.65 ERA in those.
Prediction
Game 5 has been scheduled for Friday, but the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers will not be thinking about that and all arms have to be available for Game 4.
The Braves are 1-2 behind in the Divisional Round Series, but they have largely contained the Los Angeles Dodgers and it has been a lack of Offensive spark that has proved costly.
This has to improve, but the Braves should be confident in Tyler Mahle's abilities on the mound and that can give them a lift.
Challenging Tyler Glasnow will be a different test for Atlanta with this experienced pitcher proving he can bring his best in the post-season with his efforts last year. Injuries have been an issue over the last couple of regular season campaigns, but Glasnow will always give the Los Angeles Dodgers a chance.
Bullpens will be active and ready to go, which does change the nature of a game.
The Dodgers have shown they have the game changing power with Home Runs being key to any Playoff game, but the Braves have fought all season and they have enough about them to force a decider. It may need them to get after Tyler Glasnow early, but Atlanta have scored three runs in 5 Innings against this pitcher in this ballpark in August and the Braves look a big priced underdog in Game 4 of this Series.
The Pick :
Atlanta Braves 4-2 Los Angeles Dodgers
