As the pennant races start to heat up in the second half of the season, Big League Stew is there to take a closer look at some of the biggest series down the stretch . Los Angeles Dodgers at Atlanta Braves The situation : Pittsburgh's visit to St. Louis might hold bigger playoff implications this weekend, but I'm a little tired of writing about the Pirates right now. So instead we'll take a look at the Dodgers' trip down to Atlanta for a meeting of two of the league's top teams. This could be a potential play-in game matchup, but both teams would rather make it a playoff series matchup by taking their own divisions. Los Angeles currently hold a half-game lead over San Francisco in the NL West while the Braves can't seem to catch up to the Nationals in the NL East, no matter how much they win. They hold the third-best record in the NL with 69 wins but still trail Washington by four games. Getting an edge over the other team will be important this weekend, though not as important as just the sheer act of piling up wins to use against any team in the competitive NL postseason race. Previously on : The Braves took two of three at Dodger Stadium in late April. What's left : Nothing in...