The start of October means the start of a baseball fan’s favorite time of the year: the Major League Baseball postseason. After 162 regular season games, the top 12 teams are moving on to the MLB playoffs. The playoff format consists of four series, starting with the Wild Card Series (new in 2023) and ending with the coveted World Series Championship. Find out which teams made it to the postseason, the MLB playoffs & World Series schedule and how to watch the games live with DIRECTV.
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TV CHANNELS FOR THE MLB PLAYOFFS
The 2023 MLB playoffs and subsequent World Series will be available to watch on a few different TV channels. The networks broadcasting the games, depending on the league and series, include:
Regional Sports Lineup: Check local listings
FOX Sports 1 (FS1): DIRECTV 219
MLB Network: DIRECTV 213
ESPN: DIRECTV 206
ESPN 2: DIRECTV 209
Bally Sports: DIRECTV 692
TBS: DIRECTV 247
WHAT TEAMS ARE IN THE 2023 MLB PLAYOFF PICTURE?
Here are the teams that have made it to the MLB postseason. Seeds 1-3 are division winners, while seed 4-6 are wild card teams.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
1. Baltimore Orioles (AL East division winner)
2. Houston Astros (AL West division winner)
3. Minnesota Twins (AL Central division winner)
4. Tampa Bay Rays (AL East Wild Card #1) (Eliminated)
5. Texas Rangers (AL Central Wild Card #2)
6. Toronto Blue Jays (AL Wild Card #3) (Eliminated)
NATIONAL LEAGUE
1. Atlanta Braves (NL East division winner)
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (NL West division winner)
3. Milwaukee Brewers (NL Central division winner) (Eliminated)
4. Philadelphia Phillies (NL Wild Card #1)
5. Miami Marlins (NL Wild Card #2) (Eliminated)
6. Arizona Diamondbacks (NL Wild Card #3)
MLB PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE 2023
Anything can happen in the MLB postseason. And with the new wild card format, that’s even more true. When looking at the schedule below, remember that not all matchups will play all the games in their series.
For instance, if a team wins the first two games in the Wild Card Series, the series will end there, rather than playing out the third game.
First, here’s a look at the MLB postseason schedule format. Following the list will be the full schedule with game times and team matchups.
WILD CARD SERIES: OCTOBER 3-5
First, the wild card teams from either league will compete in a three-game series. These games will be available either on ABC, ESPN (channel 206) or ESPN2 (channel 209) on DIRECTV.
*Are included for games that are only played by necessity.
Winning teams are bolded.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 3
NL Game 1: Philadelphia Phillies (4) vs. Miami Marlins (1) – 8:08 p.m. (ESPN)
AL Game 1: Tampa Bay Rays (0) vs. Texas Rangers (4) – 3:08 p.m. (ABC)
NL Game 1: Milwaukee Brewers (3) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (6) – 7:08 p.m. (ESPN2)
AL Game 1: Minnesota Twins (3) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (1) – 4:38 p.m. (ESPN)
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4
NL Game 2: Philadelphia Phillies (7) vs. Miami Marlins (1) – 8:08 p.m. (ESPN)
AL Game 2: Tampa Bay Rays (1) vs. Texas Rangers (7) – 3:08 p.m. (ABC)
NL Game 2: Milwaukee Brewers (2) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (5) – 7:08 p.m. (ESPN2)
AL Game 2: Minnesota Twins (2) vs. Toronto Blue Jays (0) – 4:38 p.m. (ESPN)
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5
No third games were played in the Wild Card Series.
WILD CARD WINNERS
AL Winners: Texas Rangers; Minnesota Twins
NL Winners: Arizona Diamondbacks; Philadelphia Phillies
DIVISION SERIES: OCTOBER 7-14
The Division Series will be available to watch through DIRECTV on either Fox, FS1 (channel 219) or TBS (channel 247).
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7
NLDS Game 1: Atlanta Braves (0) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (3) (TBS)
ALDS Game 1: Minnesota Twins (4) vs. Houston Astros (6) (FOX/FS1)
ALDS Game 1: Baltimore Orioles vs. Texas Rangers (FOX and FS1)
NLDS Game 1: LA Dodgers (2) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (11) (TBS)
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 8
ALDS Game 2: Minnesota Twins (6) vs. Houston Astros (2)
ALDS Game 2: Baltimore Orioles (8) vs. Texas Rangers (11)
MONDAY, OCTOBER 9
NLDS Game 2: Atlanta Braves (5) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (4) (TBS)
NLDS Game 2: LA Dodgers (2) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (4) (TBS)
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10
ALDS Game 3: Minnesota Twins (1) vs. Houston Astros (9) (Fox)
ALDS Game 3: Baltimore Orioles (1) vs. Texas Rangers (7) (Fox)
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11
NLDS Game 3: LA Dodgers (2) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (4) (TBS)
NLDS Game 3: Atlanta Braves (2) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (10) (TBS)
ALDS Game 4: Minnesota Twins (2) vs. Houston Astros (3) (FS1)*
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12
NLDS Game 4: Atlanta Braves (1) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (3) (TBS)*
DIVISION SERIES WINNERS:
AL Winners: Houston Astros & Texas Rangers
NL Winners: Arizona Diamondbacks & Philadelphia Phillies
LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: OCTOBER 15-24
Winners of the American League Division Series and National League Division Series will move onto the Championship Series. Games will be available to watch live through DIRECTV on Fox and FS1 (channel 219) or TBS (channel 247).
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15
ALCS Game 1: Texas Rangers (2) vs. Houston Astros (0)
MONDAY, OCTOBER 16
NLCS Game 1: Arizona Diamondbacks (3) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (5)
ALCS Game 2: Texas Rangers (5) vs. Houston Astros (4)
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17
NLCS Game 2: Arizona Diamondbacks (0) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (10)
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18
ALCS Game 3: Texas Rangers (5) vs. Houston Astros (8) (Watch on FS1 at 8:03pm ET)
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19
NLCS Game 3: Arizona Diamondbacks (2) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (1) (Watch on TBS at 5:07pm ET)
ALCS Game 4: Texas Rangers (3) vs. Houston Astros (10) (Watch on FS1 at 8:03pm ET)
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20
NLCS Game 4: Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Philadelphia Phillies (Watch on TBS at 5:07pm ET)
ALCS Game 5*: Texas Rangers (4) vs. Houston Astros (5) (Watch on FS1 at 8:03pm ET)
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21
NLCS Game 5*: Arizona Diamondbacks (1) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (6) (Watch on TBS at 8:07pm ET)
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 22
ALCS Game 6*: Texas Rangers (9) vs. Houston Astros (2) (Watch on FS1 at 8:03pm ET)
MONDAY, OCTOBER 23
NLCS Game 6*: Arizona Diamondbacks (5) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (1)
ALCS Game 7*: Texas Rangers (11) vs. Houston Astros (4)
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24
NLCS Game 7*: Arizona Diamondbacks (4) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (2)
SCHEDULE FOR THE WORLD SERIES
After the first three rounds in the MLB playoffs are over, the two prevailing teams – one from the American League and the other from the National League – match up against each other in the final 7-game series, the one and only MLB World Series.
This schedule overview will go through the dates for each game, along with the designated network to watch it on.
The Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks won their respective Championship Series and are moving on to the 2023 World Series.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27
World Series Game 1: Arizona Diamondbacks (5) vs. Texas Rangers (6)
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28
World Series Game 2: Arizona Diamondbacks (9) vs. Texas Rangers (1)
MONDAY, OCTOBER 30
World Series Game 3: Arizona Diamondbacks (1) vs. Texas Rangers (3)
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31
World Series Game 4: Arizona Diamondbacks (7) vs. Texas Rangers (11)
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1
World Series Game 5: Arizona Diamondbacks (0) vs. Texas Rangers (5)
WORLD SERIES WINNER
The Texas Rangers won the World Series (4-1) against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
WATCH THE MLB POSTSEASON WITH DIRECTV
The World Series will be here before you know it, and you don’t want to miss it. And if you don’t want to miss the MLB playoff games leading up to the World Series, look to DIRECTV. With the most local MLB games, plus MLB Strike Zone and MLB Network, you’ll have no problem keeping your head in the game.
And with DIRECTV Sports Pack, you can watch even more professional sports live with over 40 specialty sports networks, including NFL Network, NFL RedZone from NFL Network, NBA TV and more.
New customer? Find out how to get Sports Pack included for your first three months.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do the MLB playoffs happen?
The MLB postseason starts on October 2, 2023, and will go until the final series, the World Series, which will begin in the last week of October.
How can I watch the World Series?
The World Series will be available to watch on Fox starting on October 27th, 2023. The 7-game series could last until November 4, depending on how many games each team wins.
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