Where the 2021 National League Wild Card Game will be played is not yet set, but first pitch has been scheduled for 5:10 p.m. PT on Wednesday, Oct. 6. TBS will exclusively broadcast the one-game playoff and begin pregame coverage at 4 p.m.
Entering play Thursday night, only the St. Louis Cardinals were locked into the Wild Card. They can expect to be in California, as both the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants remain potential opponents.
The Dodgers appear to be the more likely opponent for the Cardinals, as they are two games behind the Giants for first place in the NL West.
While their streak of NL West titles may be snapped this season, the Dodgers qualified for the postseason a ninth year in a row. “It never gets old. We did a little champagne toast, said a few words and acknowledged the fact that it’s a big accomplishment,” manager Dave Roberts said after his club punched their ticket for another appearance in October baseball.
“You don’t ever want to get jaded and not appreciate getting to the postseason, because it’s not a right of passage. So we acknowledged that and also acknowledged we’ve got a lot of work to do and this is just the beginning.
One night after qualifying for the playoffs, the Dodgers clinched home-field advantage for a potential Wild Card Game berth. Roberts indicated last week that Max Scherzer would start a potential Game 163 to decide the NL West or the Wild Card.
While the Dodgers have long secured a spot in the postseason this year, the Cardinals didn’t do so until recently. It nevertheless was in impressive fashion as they did so behind a franchise-best 17-game winning streak.
While common amongst all teams and presumably not limited to the Cardinals, the Dodgers had several scouts in attendance when the Cardinals clinched their playoff berth.
AL Wild Card Game
Teams for the AL Wild Card Game are not set, though that will be played Tuesday, Oct. 5. First pitch is set for 5:08 p.m. and ESPN will have the exclusive national broadcast.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and more!
