The arch rival San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers begin their best-of-five NLDS on Friday at Oracle Park in San Francisco.
This marks the first time in the modern era — i.e., 1900 onward — that the Dodgers and Giants franchises have met in the postseason. It’s also a true clash of titans, as the Giants during the regular season went 107-55 and finished a game ahead of the 106-56 Dodgers. This NLDS now owns the record for most combined wins, 213, by two teams meeting in a playoff series. It’s also the first time that two teams winning at least 105 games each during the regular season have met in the playoffs.
As for how they got here, the Giants broke the Dodgers’ streak of eight straight division titles, and the Dodgers eked out a thrilling win over the Cardinals in the NL Wild Card Game.
Below, you’ll find all you need to know about the NLDS — the dates and times of each game, as well as the probables and the television carriers.
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Game 1 – Fri., Oct. 8 |
9:37 p.m. ET |
TBS |
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Game 2 – Sat., Oct. 9 |
9:07 p.m. ET |
TBA vs. Kevin Gausman |
TBS |
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Game 3 – Mon., Oct 11 |
9:37 p.m. ET |
TBA vs. TBA |
TBS |
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Game 4 – Mon, Oct. 12* |
9:07 p.m. ET |
TBA vs. TBA |
TBS |
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Game 5 – Wed., Oct. 14* |
9:07 p.m. ET |
TBA vs. TBA |
TBS |
*if necessary
The Dodgers finished the regular season with a better run differential than the Giants, plus-269 to plus-210. That plus the Dodgers’ notable deadline additions — Trea Turner and Max Scherzer — mean you can argue that L.A. has the stronger roster on paper. That said, the Dodger rotation right now is missing Clayton Kershaw, who’s out for the entire postseason with an elbow injury. As well, that rotation isn’t lined up optimally, as Max Scherzer started Wednesday’s Wild Card Game. Infielder Max Muncy (elbow) is also unlikely to be available for the Dodgers in the series. On the Giants’ side of things, first baseman Brandon Belt (thumb) probably won’t be able to play in this series.
Whatever the specifics, this one figures to be a highly intense and highly compelling postseason clash. Fittingly, the Giants won the season series by the narrow margin of 10-9, but the Dodgers outscored them in those games by the similarly narrow margin of 80-78.
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