Dodgers earn No. 2 seed, open NLDS Oct. 3 at home

The opening two games are set for Dodger Stadium, with the next possible contests on the road and a deciding game back in Los Angeles, True Blue LA reported. The Dodgers will face the winner of the wild-card matchup involving Atlanta and the No. 6 seed.

Dodgers’ NLDS schedule

The series schedule is:

• Game 1: Oct. 3 at Dodger Stadium
• Game 2: Oct. 4 at Dodger Stadium
• Game 3: Oct. 6 at an opponent’s park
• Game 4, if needed: Oct. 7 at an opponent’s park
• Game 5, if needed: Oct. 9 at Dodger Stadium

Start times and the exact television assignments have not been announced. Fox Sports will carry the National League Division Series, with games split between Fox and FS1.

The Dodgers reached the position after Atlanta lost Thursday and Los Angeles lost to San Diego. Their top-two finish gives them a first-round bye, so they will not play in the best-of-three wild-card round. Milwaukee holds the No. 1 seed and the tiebreaker over Los Angeles, according to True Blue LA.

The break and the roster

The idle period gives the Dodgers five days between the regular season and their first playoff game. That pause has produced mixed results for the club. Los Angeles was eliminated in the Division Series after receiving a bye in 2022 and 2023, then changed its off-week routine in 2024 by adding simulated-game work and more team activity at the ballpark. The Dodgers came back from a two-games-to-one deficit against San Diego that year and won the series on the way to a championship.

Health is part of the calculation again. Los Angeles activated Andy Pages, Shohei Ohtani and Roki Sasaki from the injured list during the week. Pages had a broken left hand, Ohtani had left biceps inflammation and Sasaki had a blister on his right middle finger. Blake Snell, Freddie Freeman and Edgardo Henriquez were also dealing with injuries, with Henriquez on the injured list because of lower-back discomfort.

For Dodgers players, the bye removes two possible playoff games and creates time for injured teammates to work toward the series. The club is also seeking its third consecutive World Series title, a feat no National League team has achieved, Yahoo Sports reported. This will be the Dodgers’ 14th straight appearance in the Division Series, matching Atlanta’s record for consecutive playoff berths in Major League Baseball.