The MLB playoffs are set to start this week and the postseason coverage begins with the wild card games for the American League and National League on October 6-7. The games will be on ESPN and TBS and start ahead of the ALDS, which starts on Thursday from Fox Sports 1 ahead of the NLDS.
The American League wild card game will have the New York Yankees taking on the Houston Astros and that game will be at Yankee Stadum on October 6. The TV coverage for the game will be on ESPN for the AL wild card and the Yankees are back in the playoffs for the first time in two years and will have Masahiro Tanaka pitching the game.
The National League wild card game will be on October 7 and the game will have the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates playing in an NL central division matchup. The television coverage for the NL wild card is from TBS and it has two teams that have been playing well in the second half of the season. The Pirates will host the game against the Cubs and it will be at PNC Bank Park in Pittsburgh.
The American League Division Series starts on Thursday from Fox and coverage will be on Fox Sports 1 for the TV side of things. The Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays and the Texas Rangers are the division winners in the AL and they all are formidable opponents heading into the postseason.
The National League slate of teams is very tough this year and from 1 to 5 and any of the teams could end up as World Series champs this season. The St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Pirates and Cubs all are realistic options to make it and the Mets will be battling the Dodgers in the NLDS after ending their playoff drought.
The Mets and Dodgers both have stacked pitching and Los Angeles has the best one two punch in the league with Zack Greinke and Clayton Kershaw, but New York has the deepest rotation with Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard as their top three options.
