Braves vs. Dodgers Meet In The Postseason Again: NL Foes' MLB Playoff History

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves have a couple of things in common over the last 30 years.

One commonality is star first baseman Freddie Freeman, who has played for and won a World Series with both the Dodgers and Braves. Meanwhile, a recurring theme is the two teams being good at the same time and meeting in the postseason.

On that note, the Braves and Dodgers will face off in the 2026 National League Division Series starting with Game 1 on Saturday, with Los Angeles having home-field advantage in the series. This will be the sixth playoff matchup between the two franchises, with four of the five finished series coming since the decade of the 2010s.

Here's how the Braves and Dodgers' five playoff series have fared:

 

Braves Crush Dodgers In '96

The Braves would reach the World Series in 1996 for the fourth time in six years. (Photo credit should read Vince Bucci/AFP via Getty Images)

Coming off winning the 1995 World Series, the Braves were a well-oiled machine in 1996, and the Dodgers were just an object in their way.

While Los Angeles held Atlanta to just 10 runs in the 1996 NLDS, the Braves held the Dodgers to half that amount in what was a three-game sweep. John Smoltz surrendered just one run and six baserunners (four hits and two walks) over nine innings pitched for the Braves in Game 1, which required extra innings. Then, catcher Javy López led off the top of the 10th inning with a home run off Antonio Osuna, proving to be enough for the 2-1 victory.

Greg Maddux followed with seven potent innings for Atlanta in Game 2, giving up no walks or earned runs through seven innings. However, the Braves would need to flip the script in the later innings, and a pair of solo home runs in the top of the seventh from star first baseman Fred McGriff and right fielder Jermaine Dye did just that, as Atlanta would win, 3-2.

The Braves closed out the series on their home field, with left-hander Tom Glavine surrendering just one run over 6 ⅓ innings in a 5-2 victory. As for their work with the bats, McGriff brought home a run on a double in the bottom of the first and Atlanta had a four-run fourth inning that saw second baseman Mark Lemke hit a two-run double and third baseman and burgeoning superstar Chipper Jones hit a two-run home run.

Atlanta went on to win the NL pennant for a second consecutive year. Granted, the Braves blew a 2-0 series lead to the New York Yankees in the World Series.

 

Dodgers Silence Braves In '13

The 2013 MLB season marked the first time the Dodgers made the playoffs since 2009. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

The 2013 MLB season marked the Braves' first NL East title in eight years, but the vibes at Turner Field were muted by the Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLDS.

A pair of two-run innings in the second and third, highlighted by a two-run home run from first baseman Adrián González, and a fourth-inning RBI single from veteran second baseman Mark Ellis ultimately put the game out of reach for the Braves. Los Angeles scored a sixth run on a sixth-inning double from Hanley Ramírez in a 6-1 win, while superstar southpaw Clayton Kershaw carved up Atlanta's offense with 12 strikeouts over seven innings.

Atlanta bounced back in Game 2, getting a 4-3 victory that saw it fend off a late Los Angeles push which saw Ramírez hit a two-run home run to pull the Dodgers within one run in the eighth inning. Braves left-hander Mike Minor continued to evade damage, surrendering just one run over 6 ⅓ innings, while outfielder Jason Heyward provided needed separation for Atlanta with a two-run single in the bottom of the seventh.

The Braves got out to a 2-0 lead in the opening frame of Game 3, but the Dodgers would rock right-hander Julio Teherán out of the game after 2 ⅔ innings and proceed to rake the rest of the way. As part of a 13-6 win that saw the Dodgers tally 14 hits, left fielder Carl Crawford and third baseman Juan Uribe each homered, with Ramírez and rookie sensation Yasiel Puig logging three hits apiece.

Then, Atlanta looked on track to force a Game 5, as it held a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the eighth inning in Game 4. But Uribe sent Dodger Stadium into a state of delirium with a go-ahead and ultimate game and series-winning, two-run home run. Kenley Jansen struck out the side in the top of the ninth. Moreover, Crawford hit a pair of solo home runs earlier in the game (bottom of the first and third).

 

Dodgers Silence Them Again In '18

The Dodgers acquired Manny Machado from the Baltimore Orioles before the 2018 MLB trade deadline. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

It was eerily similar to 2013. This time around, the Braves hadn't posted a winning record or made the playoffs since that 2013 series against the Dodgers and had a presumably bright future ensuing around a blossoming young core that included Freeman, outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. and second baseman Ozzie Albies, among others. But the 2018 NLDS went sour quickly for the Braves.

Atlanta failed to score in each of the first two games of the series and was held to a combined nine hits, losing 6-0 in Game 1 and 3-0 in Game 2. Left-hander Hyun Jin Ryu went seven innings for the Dodgers in Game 1, with the bulk of the scoring coming off a three-run home run from first baseman Max Muncy, with left fielder Joc Pederson and second baseman Kike Hernández each hitting solo home runs.

Regarding Game 2, the Braves ran into Kershaw, who threw eight scoreless innings and gave up just two baserunners (two hits), while the Dodgers' three runs came on a two-run home run from Manny Machado (it was a moment in time) and a solo homer from catcher Yasmani Grandal.

Atlanta's offense finally came to life in Game 3, as it got five runs in the bottom of the second off Walker Buehler, a frame highlighted by a grand slam from Acuña. Now, the Dodgers managed to level the score at 5-all with a two-run single from third baseman Justin Turner in the top of the third, a two-run home run from left fielder Chris Taylor in the fifth and a solo homer from Muncy later in the inning. But Freeman would bail out the Braves with a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth, and they held on to win, 6-5.

With that said, the Dodgers closed out the series in Game 4. After trailing 2-1 through five innings, Los Angeles would plate two runs in the sixth on a pinch-hit single from David Freese and three more in the seventh on a three-run homer from Machado, going on to win 6-2. The effort also included 4 ⅔ shutout innings from the Dodgers' bullpen. Los Angeles would go on to win the NL pennant for a second consecutive year but also lose in the World Series for a second consecutive year.

 

Dodgers Roar Back In '20

The Dodgers broke a 32-year title drought in 2020. (Photo by Greg Nelson/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X163422)

This series was, undoubtedly, the most painful of this bunch for the Atlanta faithful.

This series took place at Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers. All playoff series beyond the wild-card round in 2020 took place at a neutral site in what was just a 60-game regular season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Game 1 of the 2020 NL Championship Series was a pitchers' duel through eight innings until the Braves struck for four runs in the top of the ninth, highlighted by a two-run home run from Albies and a solo blast from third baseman Austin Riley. Atlanta took control of the series with an 8-7 win in Game 2 to take a 2-0 series lead. In said victory, the Braves got home runs from Freeman and Albies, who had a game-high three hits.

The Dodgers got off the mat in a big way in Game 3, though, essentially ending the game in the opening frame with an 11-run first inning and four more runs over the next two innings, culminating in a 15-3 win. In the aforementioned first-inning shellacking, the Dodgers got a grand slam from Muncy, a three-run home run from Pederson — who had a game-high four hits — and a solo homer from Edwin Ríos.

All that said, the Braves thumped the Dodgers in Game 4, 10-2, to put Los Angeles on the ropes. Most of the damage came in a six-run sixth inning, which broke a 1-1 tie. Designated hitter Marcell Ozuna had a game-high four hits for the Braves, highlighted by a solo home run in the seventh and an RBI double in the sixth; the Dodgers had three hits.

But then it happened.

Trailing 2-1 in the top of the sixth in Game 5, the Dodgers ripped off a pair of three-run innings to get a 7-3 victory and keep their season alive. Their seven total runs came on a fourth-inning solo home run from shortstop Corey Seager, a three-run homer from catcher Will Smith in the sixth, another homer from Seager in the seventh (it was a two-run shot this time) and an RBI single from Mookie Betts.

Then, the Dodgers got all the runs they'd need in the opening inning of Game 6, as Seager and Turner each hit solo home runs and center fielder Cody Bellinger hit an RBI single in a 3-1 win for Los Angeles, which got six scoreless innings from Buehler.

Game 7 was back and forth, as the Braves scored a run in the first and second innings, with the Dodgers getting those two runs back in the bottom of the third and Atlanta taking back the lead in the top of the fourth. But solo home runs from Hernández in the sixth and Bellinger in the seventh would be enough for the Dodgers to get the win and pull off the series comeback.

After coming back down 3-1 in the NLCS, the Dodgers went on to beat the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2020 World Series, marking the franchise's first championship since 1988. 

 

Braves Get Dodgers Back In '21

The Braves' appearance in the 2021 World Series was their first since 1999. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

The Dodgers and Braves ran it back in the 2021 NLCS, and Atlanta exacted its revenge.

Game 1 was a low-scoring affair that saw the Dodgers deploy a bullpen game, while the Braves got six plausible innings from left-hander Max Fried. The game entered the ninth inning tied at 2-all, but Riley — who hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth — ensured there would be no extra innings with a walk-off, RBI single.

Los Angeles began Game 2 with a bang, as Seager hit a two-run home run in the top of the first, but Joc Pederson (yes, he left the Dodgers after the 2020 season and was traded to the Braves during the 2021 season) would match the long ball with a two-run homer of his own in the bottom of the fourth. Like in Game 1, Game 2 was tied entering the ninth inning, and, yes, the Braves walked it off again. This time, the walk-off hit came on an infield single from left fielder Eddie Rosario, who finished with a game-high four hits in a 5-4 win.

Atlanta looked poised to take a 3-0 series lead in Game 3, as it led 5-2 entering the bottom of the eighth. But a three-run home run from Bellinger in the bottom of the eighth and an RBI double from Betts later in the inning would give the Dodgers a desperately needed 6-5 win. That said, the Braves put the Dodgers on the brink of elimination with a 9-2 victory in Game 4 that saw Rosario hit two home runs and log a second four-hit game in the series. Freeman and outfielder Adam Duvall also homered for Atlanta.

At first, Atlanta looked like it was going to roll to a Game 5 victory, as Freeman launched a two-run home run in the top of the first. But the Los Angeles bats came to life in momentous fashion, as the Dodgers plated 11 runs to fend off elimination. The star of the show was Dodgers third baseman Chris Taylor, who cranked three home runs, while left fielder AJ Pollock blasted two long balls.

At this point in time, the winner of each game was identical to the 2020 NLCS, bringing back nightmare memories for Braves fans. But Game 6 had a much different finish.

Riley drew first blood for the Braves with an RBI double in the bottom of the first, and a three-home run from Rosario (yeah, he had a good series) in the fourth would put Atlanta up to stay, with it going on to win the game, 4-2. Moreover, the Braves would beat the Houston Astros in the World Series, marking the franchise's first championship triumph since 1995. By the way, this all came with Acuña missing the second half of the season and the entire postseason due to a knee injury.

Act 6 of this playoff rivalry commences on Saturday night at 4 p.m. ET on FOX.