Jordan Godfree-USA TODAY Sports Dodd and the bullpen will close out the regular season. The Braves will close out the regular season on Sunday afternoon with Dylan Dodd set to start against the Nationals. Dodd is not currently on the active roster so the team will need to make a procedural roster move on Sunday to make room. Brian Snitker said that they will call up Dylan Dodd to start Sunday’s game— Kris Willis (@Kris_Willis) October 1, 2023 Dodd will likely work as long as he can before giving way to the bullpen. The Braves used most of their primary relievers on Saturday night — Iglesias, Minter, Yates and Johnson — so look for others in the unit to make an appearance on Sunday to get some work in before the week-long layoff. Dodd, 25, has bounced back and forth between Atlanta and Gwinnett this year. The southpaw had some early success before falling on tougher times in recent appearances. He most recently pitched in the majors on September 9th as he surrendered four runs on seven hits and three walks over four innings of work. The Nationals will counter with Jackson Rutledge on the mound. First pitch will be at 3:10 p.m. ET from Truist Park.

Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images Another franchise milestone for No. 13 Ronald Acuña Jr. continues to rewrite the Atlanta Braves’ record books. Acuña stole his 73rd base of the season in the third inning in Saturday’s matchup against the Washington Nationals breaking Otis Nixon’s modern day record. @ronaldacunajr24 sets the @Braves' modern-era franchise record. pic.twitter.com/UzbVDB3qAd— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) October 1, 2023 The milestone is the latest for Acuña in one of the greatest seasons in franchise history. He already became the first player ever with a 40 homer, 70 stolen base season. In addition to that, he entered Saturday’s game with 147 runs scored and 215 hits. He is tied with Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts with 106 RBIs, which is the most ever by a leadoff hitter. Acuña’s 179 career stolen bases are the fifth most in Braves franchise history since 1900. Nixon had 186 stolen bases during his time with the Braves and ranks fourth on the list. Hank Aaron is the modern day franchise leader with 240. Nixon set the modern day record back in 1991 as part of the Braves’ worst-to-first season. He recorded at least 41 stolen bases from 1991 through 1993. He finished his career with the Braves in 1999 where at the age of 40, he stole 26 bases before calling it a career.

Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images You may disagree, but this one’s an easy answer for me. It’s that time again: Time to debate a completely arbitrary and hypothetical question. Which Jaguars player would you steal for the Falcons’ roster? This one’s easy for me. Josh Allen. The Jags’ Josh Allen, not the Bills quarterback (though honestly, I’d take him in a heartbeat, too). Allen finished the 2022 season with seven sacks and four forced fumbles, and he already has three sacks this season — the same number the entire Falcons defense has so far in 2023. Which Jags player would you steal for the Falcons? Talk it out in the comment section.

Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports The Falcons are in the midst of a winning streak The Atlanta Falcons have welcomed the rare matchups against the Jacksonville Jaguars since their Floridian opponents’ inception in 1995. Overall, this is the NFL team against whom Atlanta has the third-fewest matchups but also one of the seven teams whom they have a winning record against, going 5-3 in eight head-to-head matchups. The Jaguars were one of those rare teams that had nearly immediate success following its addition to the league as an expansion franchise — following an initial shaky season, they proceeded to make four straight playoff appearances, win two division titles, register a 14-win season and appear in two AFC Championship Games. During those years of success, the Jags met the Falcons twice for their first two meetings against Atlanta and proceeded to beat them both times. The turn of the millennia brought with it a turn in Jacksonville’s fortunes, as they have proceeded to register just five total winning seasons in the 23 years after 1999 (after four in four years between 1996-1999). Against the Falcons, they have gone 1-5, with the only win coming against a Joey Harrington quarterbacked squad in 2007. Probably not so coincidentally, the Jags have beaten Atlanta every time they’ve faced them in the midst of an above .500 season, and lost every time they were in the midst of finishing with a losing record. Atlanta is in the midst of a four game winning streak against Jacksonville, which started with a 2011 victory. All of those games came during the Matt Ryan era. Last Meeting The Falcons were coming off a five day stretch in the 2021 season where they were outscored 68-3 against the Patriots and Cowboys, and really needing something to go their way sitting at 4-6. The 2-8 Urban Meyer-led Jaguars represented a “get right” game on the schedule. Cordarrelle Patterson was in the midst of a renaissance season in his first year as a Falcon and he continued that on this particular late November afternoon in Duval County, running for over 120 scrimmage yards and scampering into the end zone for the first two scores of the game. Russell Gage added a third touchdown for Atlanta, who went up 21-3 in the third quarter and never trailed. The Jags made it interesting with back-to-back scoring drives to bring it back within one touchdown and they were given a final opportunity to try and tie the game but they ran out of juice, failing to move past their own 29-yard-line. Atlanta went on to fall short of any playoff aspirations with a 7-10 record while Jacksonville saw out a miserable season at 3-14, securing the first overall pick for a second consecutive year and firing Meyer less than one full year into his tenure.