The greatest sports month of the year is upon us, which means it’s time for postseason baseball. After two rare division title tiebreakers in the National League Central and NL West, the 2018 Major League Baseball playoffs officially begin Tuesday, Oct. 2, when the losers of those two games — the Colorado Rockies and Chicago Cubs — battle in the NL Wild Card Game. So, when and where can you catch the action? Below is the complete schedule and TV info for the 2018 MLB postseason, which we’ll update with results as they come out. *if necessary WILD CARD ROUND TUESDAY, OCT. 2 National League wild-card game: Colorado Rockies 2, Chicago Cubs 1 WEDNESDAY, OCT. 3 American League wild-card game: New York Yankees 7, Oakland Athletics 2 LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES THURSDAY, OCT. 4 NLDS Game 1: Milwaukee Brewers 3, Rockies 2 (10 innings) NLDS Game 1: Los Angeles Dodgers 6, Atlanta Braves 0<doc-sep>Dylan Buell/Getty Images The National League Division Series slate is set. The Colorado Rockies will take on the Milwaukee Brewers in one matchup after a dramatic 2-1 win in 13 innings over the Chicago Cubs in the Wild Card Game. The reigning NL champion Los Angeles Dodgers will square off against the young Atlanta Braves in the other matchup, and one of those four teams will be playing in the World Series later this month. Let's not get ahead of ourselves, though. First, the NLDS. Ahead you'll find all the pertinent scheduling and TV info, as well as a quick preview of both matchups: Milwaukee Brewers vs. Colorado Rockies Matthew Stockman/Getty Images Video Play Button Videos you might like Game 1 at MIL: Thursday, October 4 (5:07 p.m. ET, FS1) Game 2 at MIL: Friday, October 5 (4:15 p.m. ET, FS1) Game 3 at COL: Sunday, October 7 (4:37 p.m. ET, MLB Network) Game 4 at COL: Monday, October 8 (TBD, FS1) Game 5 at MIL: Wednesday, October 10 (TBD, FS1) The Brewers secured the best record in the National League and home-field advantage through the NLDS and NLCS with their Game 163 win over the Chicago Cubs, and now they're ready to square off against the upstart Rockies. Both teams finished the year strong, with the Brewers going 19-7 with a plus-67 run differential in September, and the Rockies not far behind at 19-9 with a plus-59 differential. The two teams met seven times during the regular season, with their most recent meeting coming in early August. The Brewers won five of seven, including taking three of four at Coors Field. The Brewers will open the series with a "bullpen day" before turning to Jhoulys Chacin on short rest in Game 2, and the bullpen will be the key to them making a deep postseason run. Jeremy Jeffress, Corey Knebel and Josh Hader form a dominant three-headed monster in the late innings, veterans Joakim Soria and Dan Jennings are both capable middle relievers and rookies Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff can provide multiple innings. They'll have their hands full shutting down a Rockies offense that has been firing on all cylinders of late. Nolan Arenado and David Dahl both finished the regular season on fire, Trevor Story had an MVP-type season and Charlie Blackmon remains as dangerous as any table-setter in the game. Meanwhile, young starters Kyle Freeland and German Marquez have enjoyed breakout seasons to help turn the rotation into a strength for the Rockies for the first time in years. The Rockies will need to score early to have a chance. The Brewers will need their starting pitching to provide something, or they risk running the relief corps ragged. Prediction: Brewers in 4 Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Atlanta Braves Jason O. Watson/Getty Images Game 1 at LAD: Thursday, October 4 (8:37 p.m. ET, MLB Network) Game 2 at LAD: Friday, October 5 (9:37 p.m. ET, FSI) Game 3 at ATL: Sunday, October 7 (8:07 p.m. ET, FS1) Game 4 at ATL: Monday, October 8 (TBD, FS1) Game 5 at LAD: Wednesday, October 10 (TBD, FS1) The Dodgers have won six straight division titles and reached the NLCS in three of the past five seasons. The Braves are in the playoffs for the first time since 2013, and only Freddie Freeman and Julio Teheran remain from that roster. With the four-man rotation of Clayton Kershaw (6 GS, 3-0, 3.89 ERA), Walker Buehler (6 GS, 2-1, 1.62 ERA), Hyun-Jin Ryu (5 GS, 3-2, 1.50 ERA) and Rich Hill (5 GS, 5-0, 3.90 ERA) all pitching well over the final month of the season, the Dodgers are going to be tough to beat. For the first time during their recent run of playoff trips, it will be someone other than Kershaw on the mound in Game 1 of the NLDS, as Ryu will get the start. Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times wrote: "Ryu loves pitching in Dodger Stadium, witness his 1.15 earned-run average in nine games there this season. Ryu also loves pitching in big moments, as he threw seven scoreless innings in the showdown series opener against Colorado in mid-September, then gave up one run in six innings during crunch time in San Francisco last weekend." If the soon-to-be-free-agent lefty can keep pitching at a high level, it would provide a huge boost for the Dodgers. The Braves shouldn't be counted out, though. With Ronald Acuna Jr. setting the table and veterans Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis shouldering the run-production load, they're capable of getting to that impressive Dodgers staff. Meanwhile, the trio of Mike Foltynewicz, Anibal Sanchez and Kevin Gausman atop the rotation has a chance to be formidable, with lefty Sean Newcomb or the aforementioned Teheran likely taking the ball in Game 4. The Braves were counted out by many before the season started, and then again when the Philadelphia Phillies seemed poised to take control of the division at the end of July, yet here they are. There's no question they're underdogs, but stranger things have happened. Prediction: Dodgers in 5 Odds to Reach World Series (via OddsShark) Dodgers: +170 Brewers: +250 Rockies: +325 Braves: +520 All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs, unless otherwise noted.<doc-sep>
The Colorado Rockies and the New York Yankees survived their Wild Card games to advance to the NLDS and ALDS, respectively. The Division Series are now set, and the winners of each best-of-five series will advance to their league's Championship Series late next week. The National League will kick things off with two games Thursday evening, while the American League series begins Friday. This year's MLB Wild Card games lived up to all the hype and then some. In the National League, the Colorado Rockies outlasted the Chicago Cubs in an epic 13-inning battle Tuesday night. On the other side, the New York Yankees cruised to a 7-2 win against the Oakland A's at an absolutely electric Yankee Stadium. But now that the MLB Wild Card games are behind us, it's time to focus on the Division Series beginning Thursday night. In the National League, the red-hot Rockies will travel to Milwaukee to take on likely NL MVP Christian Yelich and the Brewers, while rookie phenom Ronald Acuna Jr. will look to lead the Atlanta Braves to victory in Los Angeles against the Dodgers. The Cleveland Indians are slated to face the reigning World Series champion Astros down in Houston Friday afternoon, while the 100-win Yankees will renew their rivalry with the Boston Red Sox, who had the best regular-season record in the MLB and in franchise history. Here's the daily schedule for the Division Series and where you can watch each game: Thursday, Oct. 4 NLDS Game 1 — Colorado Rockies @ Milwaukee Brewers, FS1 (5:07 PM ET) NLDS Game 1 — Atlanta Braves @ Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB Network (8:37 PM ET) Friday, Oct. 5 ALDS Game 1 — Cleveland Indians @ Houston Astros, TBS (2:07 PM ET) NLDS Game 2 — Colorado Rockies @ Milwaukee Brewers, FS1 (4:15 PM ET) ALDS Game 1 — New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox, TBS (7:32 PM ET) NLDS Game 2 — Atlanta Braves @ Los Angeles Dodgers, FS1 (9:37 PM ET) Saturday, Oct. 6 ALDS Game 2 — Cleveland Indians @ Houston Astros, TBS (4:37 PM ET) ALDS Game 2 — New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox, TBS (8:15 PM ET) Sunday, Oct. 7 NLDS Game 3 — Milwaukee Brewers @ Colorado Rockies, MLB Network (4:37 PM ET) NLDS Game 3 — Los Angeles Dodgers @ Atlanta Braves, FS1 (8:07 PM ET) Monday, Oct. 8 ALDS Game 3 — Houston Astros @ Cleveland Indians, TBS (1:30 PM ET) ALDS Game 3 — Boston Red Sox @ New York Yankees, TBS (7:40 PM ET) NLDS Game 4 — Los Angeles Dodgers @ Atlanta Braves, FS1 (4:30 PM ET) Tuesday, Oct. 9 ALDS Game 4 — Boston Red Sox @ New York Yankees, TBS (8:07 PM ET) Thursday, Oct. 11 *ALDS Game 5 — New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox, TBS (7:40 PM ET) *If necessary