The Dodgers Secure First Round Bye in Playoffs, What it Means for LA
The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Francisco Giants on Saturday night, 7-0, clinching one of the top two seeds in the National League and a first-round bye in the postseason.
The Dodgers won't be caught by the Milwaukee Brewers, meaning they won't have to play in the Wild Card round, and will start their postseason on October 7 at Dodger Stadium in the NLDS.
The Dodgers remain four games back of the Atlanta Braves for the No. 1 seed in the NL, and it's unlikely they catch them. So, the Dodgers will likely play the winner of the No. 3 vs. No. 6 game, which will be the Brewers against the sixth and final Wild Card team.
This is obviously great news for LA, as they won't have to play in the Wild Card round, a best-of-three series where truly anything can happen.
Instead, they'll get just under a week off, before welcoming the winner of one of the Wild Card games into Dodger Stadium for a best-of-five series.
Last year, the Dodgers didn't benefit from getting that first-round bye, as the San Diego Padres came into the NLDS red-hot after beating the New York Mets. However, this Dodgers team feels like they'll be more prepared, and will use the six days off to get everyone well rested and healthy for a much longer run in October.
The Dodgers entered this season with many experts picking them to lose the NL West and be fighting for a Wild Card spot. Now, they won't even be playing in the Wild Card round and will instead patiently await the winner for a series where they'll have home-field advantage. Funny how that works.
