MLB NLDS Best Bets Today: Expert Picks & Predictions – Padres poised to avoid sweep against Brewers
Following a day off, the pair of NLDS matchups will resume with Game 3s on Tuesday. It’s Dodgers vs Braves and Brewers vs Padres.
Here are my best bets, and also make sure to check out our MLB picks for predictions throughout the 2026 playoffs.
Atlanta Braves ML over Los Angeles Dodgers (-108)
Atlanta could not have asked for more than a split of the first two games of the NLDS, going on the road to Los Angeles and throwing a pair of bullpen games while the Dodgers were trotting out Tarik Skubal and Blake Snell. A split is exactly what the Braves got, too, bouncing back from a 5-3 loss in the opener to take Game 2 by a 3-2 margin on Sunday. Going back to ATL with home-field advantage, the Braves are now set up nicely from a pitching standpoint with Chris Sale taking the mound in Game 3 and Tyler Mahle following on Wednesday.
Sale compiled a 2.16 ERA and 0.98 WHIP during the regular season during the regular season with a ridiculous 200-to-31 strikeout-to-walk ratio through 162.2 innings. In 16.0 innings against the Dodgers, the veteran lefty surrendered just two earned runs and mowed down 18 batters without walking a single one. There is nothing bad to say about Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but I’m rolling with Sale at home now that Atlanta has the momentum in this best-of-five set.
San Diego Padres ML over Milwaukee Brewers (-134)
San Diego is down 2-0 but could just as easily be leading 2-0. They got robbed on a flyout that should have been a go-ahead home run by Ty France in the top of the ninth inning in Game 1. In Game 2 the visitors had the Brewers down to their final strike only to see Jackson Chourio hit a game-winning two-run single. Sure it's not easy to recover from two brutal losses, it’s clear that Milwaukee is not a superior team in this matchup despite being the #1 seed in the National League. The Padres can also take confidence in going home for the next two, as the fans won’t let this club go away without a fight. They went 51-30 at home in the regular season compared to 40-41 on the road.
Nick Pivetta is taking the mound for SD on Tuesday. After returning from a five-month absence (elbow), Pivetta pitched to a 1.45 ERA in September and then fired 3.1 innings of one-run baseball during a 4-1 win over the Cubs in the previous round. The Brewers are countering with Dustin May, who went 7-9 with a 4.70 ERA and 1.32 WHIP. May rarely works deep into games and Milwaukee's bullpen was heavily taxed in both Game 1 and Game 2.
