3 Takeaways from the Braves recent series with the Dodgers

2. The Braves starting pitching is a bit deeper

If there is one "weakness" to be found in the Dodgers, it's their starting pitching. They've really not been at full strength in that position most of the year. Walker Buehler has been out almost the entire year recovering from Tommy John surgery. He will be a boost for the Dodgers when he returns.

He recently had his first rehab start and is hoping to return to LA in time for the playoffs. Clayton Kershaw came back to the Dodgers on a one-year deal and has been pretty good for them when he's been healthy. He's 12-4 with a 2.48 ERA through 112.1 innings of work which includes 120 strikeouts.

However, he missed the month of July with shoulder inflammation so his health is always something they have to be concerned with. Julio Urias has been good for the Dodgers all year but recent allegations of domestic violence could end his season.

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Noah Syndergaard started the year with the Dodgers hoping to show he still had it and he did alright. LA ended up trading him to Cleveland at the deadline for Ahmed Rosario. Syndergaard had a 7.16 ERA through 12 games with the Dodgers. He was recently released by the Guardians a few days ago.

They lost Dustin May back in May to an injury to his elbow and he had season-ending surgery in July. So, their plans for a rotation early on did not pan out how they'd hoped it would. They rebuilt their rotation into something better with trades for Lance Lynn and Ryan Yarbrough. Bobby Miller has been a nice surprise for them this year too.

The Braves have the 7th-best starter ERA at 4.01 which is 40 points better than LA which sits at 4.49 through the season so far and is 17th best.

Atlanta did struggle with some injuries this season similar to Los Angeles with losing Max Fried early on in the year and Kyle Wright, similarly to Buehler, is just now working his way back through a rehab assignment. The Braves have depended solely on Bryce Elder, Spencer Strider, and Charlie Morton to cover the majority of innings. Those last two rotation spots have been a revolving door.

Max Fried coming back immediately deepened an already good staff and allowed Atlanta to just worry about filling that 5th rotation spot. If the season ended today, I think the Braves taking a four-man rotation of Strider, Fried, Morton, and Elder bodes well for them. The prospect of having someone like Kyle Wright potentially added to that mix is a bonus.

Overall, the depth of the Braves pitching gives them an advantage in a series with the Dodgers. Even the bullpen has an enormous amount of depth. Atlanta's overall team ERA is third best in baseball at 3.48 versus the Dodgers 16th best of 4.16 this season.

Anything can happen in the playoffs but right now, I'd feel more confident in the Braves pitching going into October.