With the regular season officially behind them, the Los Angeles Dodgers now can shift their focus to the Wild Card Series, where they will meet the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Dodgers went into the final day of the regular season with an eighth consecutive National League West title and the best record in baseball already secured. With that came a guarantee of playing the entire best-of-three Wild Card round at Dodger Stadium.
However, who the Dodgers would face remained unclear. There were 44 possibilities for the final NL playoff standings as play began Sunday, though when looking at the matchups, the Brewers locking into the eighth seed appeared to be one of the more likely scenarios.
Despite the Brewers losing to the St. Louis Cardinals and finishing two games below .500, they reached the postseason due to the Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants each dropping their final game as well. Milwaukee went 5-5 over their last 10 games.
The Dodgers and Brewers meeting in the first round of an expanded 2020 MLB postseason represents a rematch of the 2018 NL Championship Series. Milwaukee was the No. 1 team in the NL standings that year but lost to L.A. in seven games of a thrilling series.
Because MLB opted for a 60-game schedule that was based on divisional and geography matchups, the Dodgers and Brewers did not play this season. Fact of the matter was, the Dodgers faced the likelihood of their first postseason opponent not being someone they played in 2020.
When asked about potentially playing a team for the first time with so much at stake, manager Dave Roberts largely downplayed any concern. “It cuts both ways,” he said.
“For us, I think it’s just more of worrying about ourselves. Preparing for any opponent we might face, but I think at the end of the day, they’ve still got to throw the baseball over the plate and we’ve got to make plays, take good at-bats and get guys out.
“If we do that, we’re going to be fine. The whole game of trying to get caught up in who we play and how we match up, I just don’t have any tolerance for it.”
Game 1 of the Wild Card Series is scheduled for Wednesday, with Game 2 to follow Thursday. If necessary, Game 3 will be played Friday. Start times and TV information have not yet been announced.
Roberts announced Walker Buehler is starting Game 1 and will be followed in the series by Clayton Kershaw for a second consecutive year.
Brewers Vs. Dodgers Wild Card Series schedule
Game 1, Wednesday, Sept. 30: Brewers @ Dodgers, 7 p.m. PT, ESPN
Game 2, Thursday, Oct. 1: Brewers @ Dodgers, TBA
Game 3*, Friday, Oct. 2: Brewers @ Dodgers, TBA
*if necessary
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