The MLB playoff schedule is set! While baseball fans officially found out Saturday night what the matchups for the upcoming 2017 MLB postseason would be, it is now time to get down to the serious business of the baseball season - chasing down a World Series title. Now that the grueling 162 game season is through, the run to the fall classic kicks off on Tuesday from New York.
Wild Card schedule
While every team's main goal is obviously to win the World Series, four teams are just hoping to make it to the second round. The new york yankees, Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies all have had a great season, however, now they are preparing for a one-game battle royale.
If you aren’t familiar with how the wild card round works, it is simple. Win or go home, that’s it. Unlike the best-of-seven divisional, championship and World Series rounds, the wild card is a one-game showdown in which the winner moves on and the losing team is done for the season.
The winners of the wild card matchups won’t have much time to celebrate, as they will quickly have to prepare for the divisional round which will start 48 hours later.
2017 World Series odds
Will the Cubs repeat as champions, or will a surprising team like the Minnesota Twins shock the world and become the first team to become a World Series championship team just one year after losing 100-plus games? Only time will tell how October baseball will play out.
Las Vegas oddsmakers believe that the LA Dodgers will face the Cleveland Indians in the 2017 World Series. The Dodgers enter the postseason as the overall favorite at +300, followed by the Indians at +350.
As for the defending champion Chicago Cubs, they listed at +800, which puts them tied for fifth overall with the Boston Red Sox to repeat as champs. The Cubs don’t appear to be as strong as they were last year, but they do know what it takes to win.
The beauty of the postseason is that every team who made it this far has a legit shot to win it all.
Here is a look at the AL and NL Wild Card matchups along with the current odds to win the 2017 World Series as the postseason prepares to begin.
Tuesday, October 3
AL Wild Card -- Minnesota Twins @ NY Yankees -- 8 p.m. ET (Santana (16-8) vs. Severino (14-6)
Wednesday, October 4
NL Wild Card -- Colorado Rockies @ Arizona Diamondbacks Gray (10-4) vs. Greinke (17-7)
2017 World Series Odds
- Los Angeles Dodgers +300
- Cleveland Indians +350
- Houston Astros +500
- Washington Nationals +700
- Chicago Cubs +800
- Boston Red Sox +800
- New York Yankees +1400
- Arizona Diamondbacks +1400
- Minnesota Twins +2800
- Colorado Rockies +3300