Overview
- The National League Division Series opens Saturday at Dodger Stadium with Game 1 scheduled for 4 p.m. ET, pitting the defending-champion Los Angeles Dodgers against the Atlanta Braves.
- This is the first time Freddie Freeman will meet his former organization in the postseason after leaving Atlanta following the club’s March 14, 2022, acquisition of Matt Olson.
- Freeman says he will treat the series like any other game and has publicly downplayed the reunion storyline while maintaining an amicable relationship with Olson.
- Atlanta held the regular-season edge, winning five of six meetings including a three-game sweep in August, with Olson supplying elite power and the Braves often limiting the Dodgers’ offense.
- The Dodgers enter with home-field advantage and a championship core while Freeman’s late-season right-knee soreness is being managed day to day, a factor to monitor for lineup and matchup decisions.