New Delhi, Oct. 4 -- The Atlanta Braves will open National League Division Series Game 1 with left-hander Dylan Dodd, not a conventional starter, when they visit the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday at Dodger Stadium. Dodd did not make a single start in 48 regular-season appearances, yet Atlanta are handing him the first innings of a best-of-five against Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Kyle Tucker and Max Muncy. The Dodgers are answering with with left-hander Tarik Skubal in a normal Game 1 role, so the series begins as a left-handed chess match rather than a starter-versus-starter duel.

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