One of the surest signs of summer officially drawing to a close is the release of the MLB postseason schedule. It may be time to put the sunscreen away, as the league has announced all the major dates. The first of the wild-card games is set for Sept. 30, then October will bring all playoff games for almost a full month. The World Series is scheduled to run from Oct. 21-29 (If it goes to seven games). Be sure to check for the betting odds for MLB by clicking here.
A Look at the MLB Betting Schedule for Postseason & Fall Classic
From a betting perspective, the race for the postseason is almost set, at least for a handful of teams. One of the spots that seems to already be set in stone is in the National League East, where the Washington Nationals hold a very healthy 8-game lead over the floundering Atlanta Braves. Ask Manager Matt Williams about the postseason, though, and he will tell you that nothing is decided until it’s mathematically impossible to catch his team.
It must be tough not to take a little peek at the schedule, though, just so you might get an idea of where your playoff travels might take you. In the particular case of the Nationals, they would begin their postseason play on Friday Oct. 3 and Saturday Oct. 4. Both series in the National League will actually begin on those dates.
The Nationals currently have the best record in the NL, which would mean that a victory in their first postseason series would see them host the first game of the NL Championship Series at home on Oct. 11.
If we stick with the Nats and assume that they make it all the way to the World Series, they would need to pack their bags and hit the road for game one. The AL came out winners in the All-Star game, which gives the AL champion home field advantage. Washington’s first World Series home game since 1933 would then take place on Friday Oct. 24.
Again, assuming that the Nationals are capable to maintain the best record in the league, the team that they would meet first would be divided by a one-game wild card game that will take place on Oct. 1.
The one thing that the Nationals will not have to worry about is the fate that befell them in 2013. They had the best NL record that season, but had to take to the road to start their series against the Cardinals because the league were trying to cut down travel days after the introduction of the one-game playoff. There will be no such quirks this year, and every series will adopt the 2-2-1 format.
In the meantime, here’s the full MLB Post season schedule as released on MLB.com. Odds and lines for the MLB regular season can be found here.
2014 WILD-CARD GAMES
Tuesday, Sept. 30: American League
Wednesday, Oct. 1: National League
DIVISION SERIES
LDS 1 — No. 1 seed vs. wild-card winner
LDS 2 — No. 2 seed vs. No. 3 seed
No. 1 & 2 seeds host Games 1, 2 & 5;
WC winners & No. 3 seeds host Games 3 Games 3 & 4
NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVSION SERIES
Friday, Oct. 3: Game 1’s
Saturday, Oct 4: Game 2’s
Monday, Oct. 6: Game 3’s
Tuesday, Oct. 7: Game 4’s
Thursday, Oct. 9: Game 5’s
AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES
Thursday, Oct. 2: Game 1’s
Friday, Oct. 3: Game 2’s
Sunday, Oct. 5: Game 3’s
Monday, Oct. 6: Game 4’s-x
Wednesday, Oct. 8: Game 5’s-x
NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Saturday, Oct. 11: Game 1 at higher seed
Sunday, Oct. 12: Game 1 at higher seed
Tuesday, Oct. 14: Game 3 at lower seed
Wednesday, Oct. 15: Game 4 at lower seed
Thursday, Oct. 16: Game 5 at lower seed
Saturday, Oct. 18: Game 6 at higher seed
Sunday, Oct. 19: Game 7 at higher seed
AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Friday, Oct. 10: Game 1 at higher seed
Saturday, Oct. 11: Game 2 at higher seed
Monday, Oct. 13: Game 3 at lower seed
Tuesday, Oct. 14: Game 4 at lower seed
Wednesday, Oct. 15: Game 5 at lower seed-x
Friday, Oct. 17: Game 6 at higher seed-x
Saturday, Oct. 18: Game 7 at higher seed-x
2014 MLB WORLD SERIES
Tuesday, Oct. 21: Game 1 at AL
Wednesday, Oct. 22: Game 2 at AL
Friday, Oct. 24: Game 3 at NL
Saturday, Oct. 25: Game 4 at NL
Sunday, Oct. 26: Game 5 at NL-x
Tuesday, Oct. 28: Game 6 at AL-x
Wednesday, Oct. 29: Game 7 at AL-x
