UPDATE (Oct. 1, 8:05 p.m.): The Los Angeles Dodgers will face the Washington Nationals in the 2019 National League Division Series. The NLDS schedule, available start times and TV info can be viewed here.
With their 9-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park, the Los Angeles Dodgers concluded the regular season on a historic note, notching a franchise record 106th win.
The 1953 Brooklyn team previously held the previous all-time mark with 105. Having already secured the second-best record in all of baseball, the Dodgers are now slated to enter the postseason in a favorable position.
They return to action on Thursday, Oct. 3, for Game 1 of the National League Division Series at Dodger Stadium. The club will officially host the winner of the NL Wild Card Game, which was finalized on Sunday.
The Washington Nationals are set to face the Milwaukee Brewers at Nationals Park on Tuesday, Oct. 1. While the Brewers have yet to announce who they’ll send to the mound, the Nationals already revealed that Max Scherzer gets the nod for them in the winner-take-all affair.
Regardless of the outcome, the Dodgers can take solace with having recently played both teams in playoff matchups. They defeated the Nationals in five games during the 2016 NL Division Series, and just last year bested the Brewers in an NL Championship Series that went seven games.
L.A. was 4-3 against Washington this season, first splitting a four-game series with them at Dodger Stadium from May 9-11. The Dodgers were defeated in contests started by Scherzer and Patrick Corbin, but managed to edge the likes of Stephen Strasburg and Anibal Sanchez.
Then from July 26-28 at Nationals Park, the Dodgers took two of three against their potential opponent in the NLDS. They were held in check by Sanchez in the series opener, but nevertheless came away with a victory after getting to the bullpen.
A similar storyline played out in the second contest. After struggling against Nationals opener Matt Grace, the Dodgers eventually got the bats going against Joe Ross en route to a 9-3 win.
The script flipped in the finale as Washington salvaged the series behind an excellent performance by Strasburg. He allowed just one run on two hits in seven innings of work while striking out nine batters.
The Dodgers posted an identical 4-3 record against the Brewers this season, although each of the matchups took place in April. L.A. first dropped two out of three to Milwaukee at Dodger Stadium.
Less than a week later, the Dodgers turned the tables and came away with an impressive three wins at Miller Park. The club. handed relief ace Josh Hader two losses in the four-game set, falling to only Chase Anderson during the matchup.
Should the Brewers overcome the Nationals in a difficult road matchup, they’ll enter the NLDS without the services of 2018 NL MVP Christian Yelich. The slugger unfortunately fractured his kneecap during an at-bat against the Miami Marlins nearly three weeks ago.
Yelich hit .250/.379/.750 with four home runs and five RBI in seven games against the Dodgers this season.
