Dodgers remain inevitable as they cruise to another NLCS

You do not need to be a baseball savant to know at the start of each season that the Los Angeles Dodgers are going to be a factor in the playoffs. It is like clockwork. You can set your watch to it. Every year. Without fail. 

They are proving that reality again in 2026 as they officially reached another National League Championship series on Wednesday night, beating the Atlanta Braves by a 4-1 margin to win their NLDS series 3-1. 

The Dodgers were not at their best offensively. 

They did not always light up the scoreboard.

They did not need to, either.

They flexed their pitching muscles and showed off their absurd depth by completely shutting down the Braves lineup when it counted most. 

Dodgers pitchers completely shut down Braves offense to reach another National League Championship Series

It is the eighth time in the past 14 years that the Dodgers have reached at least the NLCS, and their pitching is the driving force behind this latest run.

At least as far as their NLDS performance is concerned. 

After dropping Game 2 of the series to Atlanta, the Dodgers came back with Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow in Games 3 and 4.

Yamamoto was sensational in Game 3, throwing seven masterful innings.

Glasnow followed him up on Wednesday by pitching into the fifth inning.

After nearly flawless performances from the bullpen each night, the Dodgers cruised through the two decisive games by allowing just two total runs and only eight total hits. 

And this is what makes the Dodgers so imposing come playoff time. They not only have All-Star bats up and down their order, but they also have a rotation full of aces who can pick up the slack when the bats are not going well. It's made even more impressive by the fact that Shohei Ohtani has not even been pitching. 

Now they go into the NLCS ready to turn the rotation over to Tarik Skubal and Blake Snell, before working their way back to Yamamoto and Glasnow. 

How does anybody compete with that in a short series?

How does anybody compete with it in a best-of-seven series?

You can't, and it doesn't matter how your team is built, what style of baseball you play or what your approach is. Pitching wins in the playoffs. The Dodgers not only have it, they have more than everybody else.