In just a couple short weeks, the regular season will be over and the MLB postseason will begin. The MLB Playoffs are something no baseball fan wants to miss. You can save money and watch the entire postseason with Sling TV!
In a hurry? The 2023 Major League Baseball Playoffs start on October 3, and will air on a variety of stations: ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, Fox, FS1, TBS, and MLB Network. You can get all of those — and more — with Sling Orange + Blue with Sports Extra. Save 50% on your first month of Sling TV.
Table Of Contents
As of this writing, three teams have clinched playoff berths, so the competition is definitely starting to heat up. We’ll talk about the teams in contention, the channels you’ll need to watch them, and the cheapest way to get those channels. (Spoiler alert: it’s Sling TV.)
MLB Playoffs Picture
In the AL East, the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays are battling it out for the top spot in the division, and possibly the entire league.
In the AL West, it’s a three-way race between last year’s World Series champs the Houston Astros, the Texas Rangers, and the Seattle Mariners. The three teams are within two games of each other in the standings. The AL Wild Card race will come down to the loser in the AL West race versus the Toronto Blue Jays. The Minnesota Twins are predicted to win the AL Central.
In the National League, the Arizona Diamondbacks swept the Chicago Cubs to move up to the second Wild Card spot, right behind the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Cubs and Miami Marlins are now tied for third. The D-backs just need to hold on to that #5 seed, but the San Francisco Giants and the Cincinnati Reds, currently trailing, aren’t totally out of it yet, either.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have clinched a playoff spot in the NL West, and the Atlanta Braves have likewise secured the same in the NL East. In the NL Central, the Milwaukee Brewers are the likely winners.
Teams with a >1% chance of continuing to the postseason:
2023 MLB Playoffs Schedule
The Playoffs have three rounds before the World Series: Wild Card Series, Division Series, and League Championship Series. As the name “series” implies, each contest is a best-of-x series of matches.
Wild Card Series
The Wild Card Series will be played best-of-three. Times haven’t been set yet, but we do know dates. The four AL and four NL Wild Card teams will play Game 1 on Tuesday, October 3 and Game 2 on Wednesday. Game 3, if a tiebreaker is needed, will be on Thursday.
We don’t know yet which games will be on which channels, either, but we do know all the Wild Card Series matchups will be on ABC, ESPN, or ESPN2.
American League
- Tue Oct 3 : Rangers (4) at Rays (0) (ABC)
- Tue Oct 3 : Blue Jays (1) at Twins (3) (ESPN)
- Wed Oct 4 : Rangers (7) at Rays (1) (ABC)
- Wed Oct 4 : Blue Jays (0) at Twins (2) (ESPN)
- Thu Oct 5 :
Rangers at Rays* (ABC) Thu Oct 5 : Blue Jays at Twins* (ESPN)
National League
- Tue Oct 3 : Diamondbacks (6) at Brewers (3) (ESPN2)
- Tue Oct 3 : Marlins (1) at Phillies (4) (ESPN)
- Wed Oct 4 : Diamondbacks (5) at Brewers (2) (ESPN2)
- Wed Oct 4 : Marlins (1) at Phillies (7) (ESPN)
Thu Oct 5 : Diamondbacks at Brewers* (ESPN2)Thu Oct 5 : Marlins at Phillies* (ESPN)
Note: * – if necessary
Division Series
The top two division winners in each league get byes on the Wild Card Series and start here with the NLDS or ALDS. The Division Series are best-of-five, and they start Saturday, Oct 7 and could go a full week to the 14th. The matches will be televised on Fox, FS1, TBS, and MLB Network.
American League
- Sat Oct 7 : Game 1 — Rangers (3) at Orioles (2) (FS1)
- Sat Oct 7 : Game 1 — Twins (4) at Astros (6) (FS1)
- Sun Oct 8 : Game 2 — Rangers (11) at Orioles (8) (FS1)
- Sun Oct 8 : Game 2 — Twins (6) at Astros (2) (FS1)
- Tue Oct 10 : Game 3 — Astros (9) at Twins (1) (Fox)
- Tue Oct 10 : Game 3 — Orioles (1) at Rangers (7) (Fox)
Wed Oct 11 TBD: Game 4 — Orioles at Rangers* (Fox/FS1)- Wed Oct 11 TBD: Game 4 — Astros (3) at Twins (2)* (Fox/FS1)
Fri Oct 13 TBD: Game 5 — Rangers at Orioles* (Fox/FS1)Fri Oct 13 TBD: Game 5 — Twins at Astros* (Fox/FS1)
National League
- Sat Oct 7 : Game 1 — Phillies (3) at Braves (0) (TBS)
- Sat Oct 7 : Game 1 — Diamondbacks (11) at Dodgers (2) (TBS)
- Mon Oct 9 : Game 2 — Phillies (4) at Braves (5) (TBS)
- Mon Oct 9 : Game 2 — Diamondbacks (4) at Dodgers (2) (TBS)
- Wed Oct 11 TBD: Game 3 — Braves (2) at Phillies (10) (TBS)
- Wed Oct 11 TBD: Game 3 — Diamondbacks (4) at Dodgers (2) (TBS)
- Thu Oct 12 TBD: Game 4 — Braves (1) at Phillies (3)* (TBS)
Thu Oct 12 TBD: Game 4 — Dodgers at Diamondbacks* (TBS)Sat Oct 14 TBD: Game 5 — Phillies at Braves* (TBS)Sat Oct 14 TBD: Game 5 — Diamondbacks at Dodgers* (TBS)
Note: * – if necessary
League Championship Series
The American League Championship Series (ALCS) and National League Championship Series (NLCS) will start on Sunday, Oct 15 and will potentially run to Oct 24, since they’re full best-of-seven series. These series will also be aired on Fox, FS1, and TBS.
American League
- Sun Oct 15 : Rangers (2) at Astros (0) (Fox)
- Mon Oct 16 : Rangers (5) at Astros (4) (Fox/FS1)
- Wed Oct 18 : Astros (8) at Rangers (5) (FS1)
- Thu Oct 19 : Astros (10) at Rangers (3) (FS1)
- Fri Oct 20 : Astros (5) at Rangers (4)* (FS1)
- Sat Oct 22 : Rangers (9) at Astros (2)* (FS1)
- Sun Oct 23 : Rangers (11) at Astros (4)* (Fox/FS1)
National League
- Mon Oct 16 : Diamondbacks (3) at Phillies (5) (TBS)
- Tue Oct 17 : Diamondbacks (0) at Phillies (10) (TBS)
- Thu Oct 19 : Phillies (1) at Diamondbacks (2) (TBS)
- Fri Oct 20 : Phillies (5) at Diamondbacks (6) (TBS)
- Sat Oct 21 : Phillies (6) at Diamondbacks (1)* (TBS)
- Mon Oct 23 : Diamondbacks (5) at Phillies (1)* (TBS)
- Tue Oct 24 : Diamondbacks at Phillies* (TBS)
World Series
The World Series will be on Fox.
- Fri Oct 27 : Diamondbacks at Rangers (Fox)
- Sat Oct 28 : Diamondbacks at Rangers (Fox)
- Mon Oct 30 : Rangers at Diamondbacks (Fox)
- Tue Oct 31 : Rangers at Diamondbacks (Fox)
- Wed Nov 1 : Rangers at Diamondbacks* (Fox)
- Thu Nov 3 : Diamondbacks at Rangers* (Fox)
- Fri Nov 4 : Diamondbacks at Rangers* (Fox)
How to Watch the MLB Playoffs with Sling TV
Wow, that’s a lot of channels, right? Don’t worry, we’ve got all the info you need.
Wild Card Series on ESPN Sports
You can watch all three days of the Wild Card Series on Sling Orange for $40.00/mo. Sling Orange offers 30+ channels, including ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN3, which simulcasts sports from ABC. Boom. Done.
Division and League Championship Series on Fox and Turner Networks
To watch the rest of the MLB Playoffs, right up through the World Series, you’ll need Sling Blue, Sling’s other base plan, which is also $40.00/mo. Sling Blue doesn’t have any ESPN channels, but it does have 40+ other channels, including Fox (in most major media markets) and FS1. Both Blue and Orange have TBS.
MLB Network, which will carry some yet-to-be-determined number of Divisional Series games, can be found in the Sports Extra, which is $11/mo additional for an extra 12 sports channels.
Putting Them Together
So, should you get Sling Blue or Orange? Trick question! You don’t have to choose — you can get Sling Orange + Blue for $55.00/mo and problem solved.
If the MLB Network games turn out to be pivotal (they probably won’t), or you’re just a gotta-watch-em-all kind of fan, you can add a super-sized Sports Extra with 20 additional sports networks for $15/mo.
Where’s the Savings?
If you’ve been adding up as you’re going along, we’re up somewhere around $70/mo if you want to watch every game. Cable packages, as you probably are only too aware, can run well over a hundred per month.
Streaming services, though typically cheaper than equivalent cable plans, usually put MLB Network in a higher tier or an add-on. And their base plans often start at $70/mo — or more.
In other words, to get all the channels with another streaming service would be somewhere around $90-100 — if they even have them all. Hulu + Live TV, for example, doesn’t have MLB Network at all. And Fubo, while generally great for sports fans, doesn’t carry any of the Turner networks — including TBS.
Wrapping Up
Watch the entire MLB Playoffs with champion savings from Sling TV! Sign up today. Save 50% on your first month of Sling TV.
FAQ
Who is the current World Series champion?
The reigning champions are the Houston Astros. They defeated the Yankees to win the ALC pennant, and then bested the NLC Phillies in six games to become the World Champions for the second time in their history. Shortstop Jeremy Peña, a rookie, won MVP. Game 4 was the first World Series no-hitter since 1956, and only the third postseason no-hitter ever.
What would the 2023 MLB Playoffs look like if it were played tomorrow?
If the MLB Playoffs started tomorrow, the seeds would look like this:
American League
How will MLB playoffs work in 2023?
In 2022, the MLB changed its postseason format significantly. Six teams from each league enter the MLB playoffs: three division winners (East, Central, West) plus three Wild Card teams. Previously, there was one Wild Card Game that pitted the two best non-division winning teams in each league.
So, using the hypothetical seeding above, the Orioles, Astros, Braves, and Dodgers would all receive a bye to the Division Series. The Wild Card Series would consist of the #3 Twins facing off against the #6 Rangers, and the #3 Brewers against the #6 Cubs. That would leave the rhyming Rays–Jays matchup and the less lyrical Phillies-D-backs contest in the #4 vs #5 games.
The winner of the #4 vs #5 goes on to play the #1 in their league, and the #3 vs #6 plays the #2.
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