Spencer Schwellenbach starts for Atlanta Braves against Dodgers

The Atlanta Braves are back from their short road trip to Washington DC, where they drew with the Nationals. To keep up with the Mets and the two wild card contenders from the NL West, they must find a way to upset the current leaders of the NL West: the Los Angeles Dodgers.

For tonight’s game, we have a very interesting pitcher matchup as two rookies will be going head-to-head. Atlanta’s rookie of choice for tonight is Spencer Schwellenbach, who is looking to bounce back after a somewhat rough outing against the Blue Jays in his last game. The good news is that aside from his first full month as a major league starter, Schwellenbach has done a pretty good job of making sure one bad start doesn’t turn into two.

Still, this should be a pretty tough test for Schwellenbach. The Dodgers enter this game with a combined wRC+ of 115, which is just one point behind the Yankees for the top spot in all of baseball and tied with the Diamondbacks for the top spot in the NL. If Schwellenbach can keep this lineup quiet tonight, it will be a pretty big accomplishment for his rookie season.

Meanwhile, the Braves will have to deal with a rookie from Los Angeles, as the Dodgers are using Landon Knack for tonight’s game. Knack was brought in because LA’s 2024 starting lineup is dealing with a lot of injuries, and so far he’s played exactly how you’d expect a spot starter to play for the Dodgers. That is, he’s made it to the fifth inning and sometimes the sixth, doing just enough to make sure the Dodgers’ offense is still in the thick of things.

Knack’s worst start was on July 4, when he allowed four runs in just 4.1 innings against the Diamondbacks, but he’s been on a roll since then. In his last 15 innings in three starts, he’s allowed just four runs — including 16 strikeouts and just three walks. Just like Schwellenbach, the fact that Knack is a rookie doesn’t mean this will be an easy day for the Braves. Essentially, easy days for Atlanta at bat are rare, no matter who the opposing pitcher is. We can only hope that today is one of those days when the lineup wakes up and comes to play.

In fact, that may be one thing we can count on with the Braves. Aside from the pitching and injuries, one thing that is consistent for this team is the fact that this team usually plays better or worse than its competition. The Braves have a 46-37 record against teams with a record over .500 – only 3 teams have a better record against teams with winning records than the Braves. Unfortunately, one of those teams is actually the Dodgers, who have a 47-38 record against teams with winning records here in 2024.

So yeah, it’s going to be a nerve-racking night, and we’re likely in for nothing but nerve-racking nights as long as the Braves continue to fight for a Wild Card spot. The Padres play the Giants and should do well there, but the Diamondbacks host the Brewers and the Phillies host the Mets. There’s a chance the Braves could get some solid games from a few teams tonight (and the rest of the weekend), but none of that matters if the Braves can’t beat the Dodgers tonight. It’s a difficult task, but not an impossible mission.

Game info

Date/time of the game: Friday, September 12, 7:20 p.m. ET

Location: Truist Park, Atlanta, GA

TV: NONE

Streaming: AppleTV+

Radio: 680 AM / 93,7 FM The Fan