It’s shaping up to be an arms race at the top of the National League this season with the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers. Atlanta holds the best record in MLB with a 41-20 record, but the Dodgers are also starting to create some separation in their division with a recent winning surge.
So, it begs the question across MLB if the Braves are the only team that can slay the dragon that is the Dodgers, who could (and likely will) get even better at the MLB trade deadline this season. Los Angeles has stars like Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Will Smith, Kyle Tucker, and plenty more, so it makes sense why they are the favorite to win the World Series.
But the Braves aren’t too shabby either, having one of the best seasons in the last 20 years under first-year manager Walt Weiss.
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Braves Named ‘Only MLB Team’ That Can Take Down Dodgers
GettyCINCINNATI, OHIO – MAY 30: Ronald Acuna Jr. #13 of the Atlanta Braves celebrates a hitting a home run in the ninth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on May 30, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
It’s a little far-fetched to think there is just ‘one’ team in MLB that can beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, but as of now (June 3), it might be true, and it’s looking like the Atlanta Braves ARE the only team.
Think about how weak the American League is right now, and unless the Milwaukee Brewers add more true threats in their lineup, nobody is going to believe there ‘regular season’ hero spiel again. However, the Braves have been there, done that when it comes to beating the Dodgers when it counts in the MLB playoffs.
In a recent article for Bleacher Report, MLB writer Zachary Rymer names the Braves as the single team in MLB that can topple the Dodgers:
“The Point: They have the offense and the bullpen for it. Even if they don’t quite have the Dodgers’ run differential, the Braves are not overachieving. They have scored 110 more runs than they have allowed, so their record should hypothetically be more like 42-19. Between this and how they mostly resemble the Dodgers, the Braves are the ideal team to put that blueprint into action.”
Rymer also proposes a ‘three-part plan’, which basically outlines that the Braves ‘can hang’ with the Dodgers in 3 important aspects of baseball: Their bullpen, their offense, and ‘Chris Sale’.
It’s true, there’s no doubt about it, but remember the Dodgers are built for October, and those same factors may not be able to hang when the latter stages of the MLB season roll around, but only time can tell about that….
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The Race for the NL Pennant Should be a Good One
And look, while it may seem like a two-team race, there are still a lot of good NL teams spread across, and it’s a much deeper league than the AL. Even in the NL East, the Phillies have two of the best starters in MLB, and the home run leader.
There are the Brewers and Cubs, too. Milwaukee *also has some of the best starters in MLB. But all these teams have MLB playoff aspirations, and it shakes up to make the NL Pennant race a very good one.
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