The Dodgers are currently playing Game 162 against Colorado, but with the Cardinal's 4-0 win over Chicago they clinch the top seed with a 97-65 record. That leaves Atlanta with the two seed at 96-66 to face the Dodgers in the opening round of the playoffs.
The Divisional Series against the Braves starts on Thursday in Atlanta. The best-of-five series will be played out in a 2-2-1 format. The Dodgers play in Atlanta Thursday and Friday, will come home for Games 3 and 4 Sunday and Monday, and will play Game 5 in Atlanta on Wednesday, October 9.
Of course in a best-of-five series, only three game are needed to win. So it is possible the Dodgers could get one just game to play at home depending on the resuls of the series.
The rest of the National League playoff picture is still pending upon the results of the Wild Card Game on Tuesday between the Reds and Pirates. The winner of the one-game Wild Card will face St. Louis in the Divisional Round.
The Dodgers have not faced Atlanta since June 9, and in seven match-ups this season the Braves won five games. The last time they faced each other the Dodgers lost 8-1, but the playoff squad will definitely have a much different look. You likely will not see Matt Magill pitching, Skip Schumaker in center field, Scott Van Slyke in left, Luis Cruz at third and Nick Punto at shortstop the next few weeks.
The pitching match-ups for the first three games of the series will be: Clayton Kershaw vs Kris Medlen, Zack Greinke vs Mike Minor, and Hyun-Jin Ryu vs Julio Teheran.
