It’s been a long road to get here, but the 2022 Major League Baseball season is finally upon us.
Baseball’s winter of discontent – featuring a 99-day lockout – gave way to a shortened spring training, setting the stage for the first games of the regular season on Thursday. 
The reigning World Series champion Atlanta Braves are expected to compete for another title this year, but the balance of power may have shifted back to the West Coast when they let first baseman Freddie Freeman leave as a free agent. The club icon of course signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who the Braves have met in the NLCS  two years in a row. 
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Our preseason predictions favor the Dodgers, with three of the seven USA TODAY Network reporters and editors picking Los Angeles to win the World Series. 
Here’s how our experts see the 2022 season playing out:
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