The Los Angeles Dodgers swept the Milwaukee Brewers in Wild Card Series to advance to the National League Division Series against a still-to-be determined opponent. Who L.A. faces will be decided Friday when the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals play a Game 3.
The best-of-five NLDS matchup will be played entirely at Globe Life Park. As the No. 1 seed in the NL and with the best record in baseball, the Dodgers will be designated home team in Games 1 and 2, and if necessary a Game 5, regardless of their opponent.
Of course, this season there was essentially no benefit to the Dodgers going 43-17. They did get to host the Wild Card Series at Dodger Stadium — but so did every other club that finished in the top four in playoff standings for their respective league.
The Dodgers faced an undermanned Milwaukee Brewers team that on top of other absences heading into the matchup, lost Ryan Braun during Game 1. Brandon Woodruff did his part to keep the Brewers alive in Game 2, but their offense struggled against Clayton Kershaw.
The Dodgers eventually strung together hits to take a decided lead in the fifth inning. Kershaw finished with a postseason career high 13 strikeouts over eight innings to help put the Dodgers in the NLDS.
A matchup with the Cardinals would mark a sixth postseason meeting all-time. Their last October matchup came in the 2014 NLDS, which the Cardinals won in four games. The Dodgers also were eliminated by the Cardinals in the 2013 NL Championship Series, and are 1-4 in their all-time postseason series.
L.A. and San Diego have never faced each other in the postseason.
However the NLDS matchup is ultimately set, both teams will four days off to enter the Dallas bubble ahead of the series beginning. For the Dodgers, it will mean an opportunity to reunite with family members, who had been quarantining separately from the team during the final week of the regular season and into the playoffs.
Dodgers NLDS schedule (start times TBD)
Game 1: Tuesday, Oct. 6, MLB Network or FS1
Game 2: Wednesday, Oct. 7, MLB Network or FS1
Game 3: Thursday, Oct. 8, MLB Network or FS1
Game 4: Friday, Oct. 9, FS1
Game 5: Saturday, Oct. 10, FS1
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