Following a full slate of sweeps in the wild card round, Major League Baseball’s Divisional Series have begun, and the four clubs that are closest to or most significant to El Paso—the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, Houston Astros, and Arizona Diamondbacks—remain in the running.
That specific quartet has never advanced to the last eight, where the Atlanta Braves are the clear favorite.
The Divisional round, which is a best-of-five match, is explained here.
With two World Series rings under his belt and participation in the postseason in all but one of the previous seven seasons, Mookie Betts is no stranger to the bright lights of October.Also:MLB playoff schedule for 2023: Postseason standings and game timings
The Dodgers are where?Los Angeles, the number two seed, will play No. 6 Arizona in the first round of the playoffs. Arizona advanced through the last week of the regular season and eliminated the Milwaukee Brewers in the wild card round.
The Dodgers play their first game of the series on Saturday at 7:20 p.m. Mountain time. They will also play Game 2 and possibly Game 5 at home. Every Dodgers game will air on TBS.
After playing on Monday, Wednesday, and maybe Thursday and Saturday, they take Sunday off.
What is expected of LA?Los Angeles is the clear favorite because they have made it to the postseason for 11 straight years, while Arizona hasn’t made it this far since they were swept by the Dodgers in 2017. The Dodgers are the largest favorites of this round, with Las Vegas having them about 2-1 favorites to advance.
But, Arizona may have the more seasoned rotation from top to bottom (behind Clayton Kershaw of LA), and they are undoubtedly fired up after making it to the postseason for the first time in six years.
The Rangers are where?The starting Saturday at Camden Yards at 11 a.m. Mountain time/Noon central time, the No. 5 Rangers take on Baltimore, the best team in the American League. All of the series’ games will air on FS1. The games in the series are arranged according to a more conventional schedule: Sunday is Game 2, which is followed by a travel day on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, if needed.
Although Texas is the most unbeaten club still in the postseason, their two-game demolition of Tampa Bay seemed to be on the upswing of the streak. The Orioles are the least favoured of the four Divisional round series, despite Baltimore’s slight advantage.
The Astros are missing.The reigning champion Astros, seeded number two, take on the Minnesota Twins, ranked third, on Saturday at 2:45 p.m. Mountain/3:45 p.m. Central. The Rangers-Orioles games will be followed by all of the series’ games on FS1. This implies that, should it be required, their upcoming games will be on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, just like the Rangers.
Since the Yankees three-peated from 1998 to 2000, Houston is attempting to become the first team to win the championship twice.
The favorites, what about them?The Atlanta Braves, who have been the greatest club all season, take on the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday at 4 p.m. Mountain time. The series will be similar to the Dodgers, with Game 2 on Monday, followed by Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday, if needed. All games will air on TBS.
Next, what?October 15 is the start of the American League Championship Series, while October 16 is the start of the National League Championship Series.
Game 1 of the World Series is scheduled for October 27.