The Major League Baseball playoffs are approaching and a Shohei Ohtani vs. Aaron Judge matchup in the World Series looms as an enticing October possibility.
But first, the National League needs to get its waterlogged mess of a playoff race out of the way.
While the rooting interests of baseball fans vary widely, there's little doubt MLB and television executives are drooling over the potential matchup between two of the top sluggers of this generation. Ohtani recently became the first player to have 50 homers and 50 stolen bases in one season while Judge is up to 58 homers.
On top of that, Ohtani (Los Angeles Dodgers) and Judge (New York Yankees) play in the nation's top two media markets for two of the sport's most storied franchises.
Of course, there will be 10 other teams trying to block those teams from the Fall Classic. Last season, the Texas Rangers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 4 games to 1 for their first title in franchise history.
Here’s a look at what’s coming:
Who's in the playoffs? Who's still fighting?
The Diamondbacks are going to be big fans of the New York Mets or Atlanta Braves for a few hours on Monday afternoon.
They're just not sure which one.
The National League playoff race comes down to a doubleheader between the Mets and Braves on Monday. The two games were moved to the day after the scheduled end of the regular season because of Hurricane Helene, which washed out two games of the crucial Mets-Braves series last week.
The Mets (88-72) and Braves (88-72) will both make the playoffs if they split the doubleheader. But if there's a sweep, the Diamondbacks (89-73) will sneak into the bracket as the No. 6 seed while the team that gets swept goes home.
Once the first game is over, the D-backs will know who they're supporting. They'll go through a light workout at Chase Field on Monday in case their season continues.
The Dodgers, Phillies, Brewers and Padres have already clinched four of the six NL playoff spots. Both the Brewers and Padres will host a Wild Card series starting Tuesday while the Dodgers and Phillies earned some rest by claiming the top seeds.
The American League's bracket is set. The No. 6 Tigers travel to face the No. 3 Astros while the No. 5 Royals are on the road against the No. 4 Orioles in the two Wild Card Series starting Tuesday. The Yankees and Guardians are the top seeds.
How does baseball's wild-card round work?
The best-of-three wild-card format is in its third season. The format was changed in 2022 from the sudden death one-game format that was in place since 2012 with the exception of the COVID-19 pandemic-affected 2020 season.
Six teams each from the American League and National League will qualify for the postseason, including the three division winners in each league. The three wild-card teams in each league will be the teams with the best record that didn’t win their division.
The top two division winners with the best records in each league will get a bye and don’t have to play in the wild-card round. Those four teams get a few days of rest. Right now, that would be the Yankees and Guardians in the American League and the Phillies and Dodgers in the National League.
The wild-card round will feature four series: The No. 6 seed will play at the No. 3 seed in both the AL and NL. The No. 5 seed will play at the No. 4 seed.
One big advantage for the higher seed in those wild-card series is they get to host all three games.
Rule changes
Many of baseball’s recent rule changes are still in effect during the postseason, including the pitch clock, a ban on extreme infield shifts and a limit to how many times a pitcher can disengage from the rubber. The pitch clock has been a huge change for the sport and widely celebrated, cutting game times by about a half-hour.
There is one rule that won’t make the postseason cut: the so-called “ghost runner” in extra innings.
During the MLB regular season, if a game goes to extra innings, a runner is placed at second base to start the 10th inning when each team bats. That won’t happen in the postseason. Extra innings will be played just like the previous nine.
Betting favorites
The Dodgers are the current betting favorites to win the World Series at +325, followed by the Yankees (+450) and Phillies (+450), according to BetMGM Sportsbook.
How to watch
The wild-card rounds will be broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. The later rounds will be split between FS1, TruTV, TBS and Fox.
Postseason schedule
Wild-card series: Oct. 1-3
Division series: Oct. 5-12
League Championship series: Oct. 13-22
World Series: Oct. 25-Nov. 2
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
David Brandt, The Associated Press
