Major League Baseball’s playoffs begin Tuesday with four best-of-three wild-card series. One such offering on the National League side of the bracket is at Petco Park in San Diego at No. 4 sees the San Diego Padres play the No. 5 Atlanta Braves.
Whichever team wins the series will advance to face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the best-of-five NL Division Series.
Here is the wildcard series schedule:
|
Game 1 |
Tuesday, Oct. 1 |
8:38 pm ET |
ESPN/Fubo (try it for free) |
|
Game 2 |
Wednesday, Oct. 2 |
8:38 pm ET |
ESPN2/Fubo (try it for free) |
|
Game 3 (if needed) |
Thursday, Oct. 3 |
7:08 pm ET |
ESPN/Fubo (try it for free) |
Where to look
Date: Tuesday, October 1 | Time: 8:38 pm ET
Location: Petco Park (San Diego)
Channel: ESPN | Stream: Fubo
Possible Pitchers: SD RHP Michael King (13-9, 2.95 ERA) vs. AJ Smith-Shaver (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Contradictions: ATL +122 | SD-145; Up/down: 7.0
The Padres will start Joe Musgrove in Game 2 and Dillon will be stopped in Game 3 if necessary. Yu Darvish will leave the bullpen in the wild card series. Atlanta will turn to AJ Smith-Shawver, who made just one start for them during the regular season. NL Cy Young favorite Chris Sale will not be available. He is dealing with a back issue that will keep him out of Monday’s doubleheader And the Braves didn’t make the Wild Card Series list.
Here are the storylines for each team you need to know in the wild card series.
Brave: Atlanta didn’t clinch a postseason berth until game 162, and their pitching is a mess right now, to put it mildly. Sale won’t be available in the Wild Card Series and Max Fried won’t be on normal rest until Game 2. Reynaldo Lopez, who lined up to start Game 1, threw one inning out of the bullpen on Monday. So Smith-Shauer and possibly Bryce Elder get the nod to start the series. The Braves are pushing the limits of their pitching depth, and of course, they are without key hitters Ronald Acuna Jr. and Austin Riley. Both are done for the season with injuries. After the doubleheader Monday, the Braves had to fly cross country to San Diego, so they’ll be a tired team with no weapons. But, they’re in the postseason, and you have a chance to win the World Series once.
Parents: No team finished the regular season hotter than the Padres. San Diego is 43-19 in their final 62 games, going on a 122-win streak, and they look bad on paper. Cheese, Darvish, King and Musgrove are a formidable rotation, the bullpen is the deepest and most potent in baseball, and the lineup is deep with power and a ton of contact potential. Padres’ hitters struck out in just 17.6% of their plate appearances this season, the lowest rate in baseball. The Astros were second at 19.3%. The Padres will be well rested after winning early and heading into the wild card series. That doesn’t guarantee anything, but it puts them in a favorable position for the series.
