It took an extra game, but the Los Angeles Dodgers are in the Division Division series of the National League for the sixth consecutive season.

The Dodgers meet the Atlanta Braves in an intriguing best-of-five series comparing the defending NL champions to an exciting young team that is here ahead of its time. Los Angeles is the host of the first two contests and a 5th match if necessary.

The big rebuilding of Atlanta took place earlier than planned and the team ran away with NL East in the far right. The hard-fought Dodgers are a major test for the young Braves, who hope their first playoff appearance since 2013 will be just the beginning of a long and successful era.

Here are the keys for each team in the series:

The dodgers can not let Acuna set the tone

The Braves' MVP, Ronald Acuna, earned a .634 percentage, which earned him second, just behind Mookie Betts. The rookie crush the left-handers at .992 OPS, which is a source of concern for the Dodgers who started at least two or three of the south legs in the series. They will have to keep the player of 20 years in the park and outside the bases (16 flights) to avoid falling behind at the beginning of each match.

The brave should run

Dodgers receiver Yasmani Grandal is ranked near the bottom of the league, eliminating 27.8% of the runners. The Braves were one of the most aggressive baseball teams with five players having a total of double-digit flights. They are the underdogs of this series and will have to force the fight for the players to be in a position to score.

The Dodgers must enter the office of Braves

Atlanta starting pitchers placed second in the ERA NL, behind the Dodgers, but the team's office was fragile for most of the year. Brad Brach was terrific after his acquisition in July (1.52 ERA in 23 Innins), but Dan Winkler and AJ Minter struggled in the stretch, while Arodys Vizcaino would have only six appearances in September after missing two months because of inflammation of the shoulder.

The brave must keep calm

There is the old adage that an inexperienced team has the upper hand in big matches because it's not so burdened by the stakes. Yet, Acuna and Ozzie Albies are 20 years old and were playing in minors not so long ago. Starters Mike Foltynewicz and Sean Newcomb have great qualities, but have no post-season experience.

Calendar of the series

• Game 1: Thursday, at L.A. Dodgers, MLB Network, 8:37
• Game 2: Friday, at L.A. Dodgers, FS1, 9:37
• Match 3: Sunday, Atlanta, FS1, 8:07
• Game 4 (if necessary): Monday, Atlanta, FS1
• Game 5 (if necessary): Wednesday at L.A. Dodgers, FS1