Here's how to watch the Philadelphia Phillies playoff game today (10/6/24) | FREE LIVE STREAM, Time, TV Channel for NL Division Series vs. New York Mets

The New York Mets will face the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 2 of the National League Division Series at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on October 6, 2024 (10/6/24).

Luis Severino will start for the Mets and Cristopher Sanchez for the Phillies in Game 2 of the best-of-five series. The Mets won Game 1 6-2.

How to watch: Fans can watch all MLB playoff games for FREE with a trial of DirecTV Stream or with fuboTV.

What: National League Division Series

Who: New York Mets vs. Philadelphia Phillies

When: October 6, 2024

Time: 4:00 p.m. ET (3:00 p.m. CT)

Where: Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

TV: FShohei Ohtani has hit 100 mph fastballs for home runs, stolen bases against some of the game's best catchers and recently completed one of the best regular seasons in Major League Baseball history.

Now the Japanese superstar and his Los Angeles Dodgers must contend with something that's arguably even more daunting.

A five day break.

Since MLB's most recent 12-team playoff format took effect in 2022, five of the top eight seeds have lost in the Division Series and failed to capitalize on the perceived reward of a bye through the Wild Card Series.

This year, the Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies are the top two seeds in the National League, while the New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians are in the same position in the American League. That gives them all five days to prepare for the best-of-five division series, which begins on Saturday.

Sure, a few days to heal bumps and bruises while other teams battle them is nice. But there is also a downside.

“It’s not a vacation,” Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott said after a practice earlier this week.

Perhaps more than any other professional sport, baseball is a sport that relies on rhythm and routine. MLB squeezes 162 regular-season games into 187 days in six months, meaning teams play games almost every day from April through September. Other than the All-Star break in July, there are never two scheduled days off in a row.

Five days is a relative eternity. And it wasn't always a good thing.

“It’s a compromise,” said Chris Antonetti, Cleveland’s president of baseball operations. “The advantage is that you have time off. The downside is that you are not in the major league environment and are experiencing live major league pitching at the normal cadence that you would have during the season.

“But overall I think I would still make the compromise and want the bye.”

To stay current, the Guardians have played simulated games for the past three days. On Wednesday, they played at an empty Progressive Field with crowd noise sprinkled in, giving the game the same aura as the pandemic-ravaged 2020 season.

“We've tried this week to be really intentional about the environments we create to keep our guys ready for Saturday's competition,” Antonetti said.

The Yankees are among the teams that have found success in the current playoff format, winning their 2022 Division Series against the Guardians after a five-day break. Manager Aaron Boone said last week that part of his plan was to bring some of the organization's minor league players to New York so hitters would have fresh weapons while they wait for Saturday.

“We’ll do our best to take advantage of what’s left, and I’m sure several people will benefit from it this time of year,” Boone said. “But we’re also trying to make sure we keep that mental edge and keep the guys as sharp as possible with live looks.”

The Dodgers are the poster child for what can go wrong in October after a long layoff. They were the NL's top seed in 2022 but lost in four games to the San Diego Padres. They also earned a bye last season before being coached in three games by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Now Los Angeles is in the same situation again. The Dodgers are in a good position in many ways – they have one of the best offensive lineups in the game with Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman and have earned home-field advantage in the playoffs thanks to a 98-64 record in the regular season.

They also tweaked their routine during the five-day break compared to the previous two years, taking some at-bats against high-speed pitching machines that mimic MLB pitchers. Some of the team's players have also organized watching parties for the wild card games to maintain camaraderie.

But there's one thing they'll be missing on Saturday: momentum.

You have to do it quickly.

“I see a little more hunger, I see a little more spiciness. I like that,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “That’s not to say the guys weren’t prepared or didn’t care, but there’s a different level of intensity.”S1

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Here's an MLB story from the AP:

The Major League Baseball playoffs are approaching and a Shohei Ohtani-Aaron Judge matchup in the World Series is looming as a tempting possibility in October.

But first the National League has to get its wet mess of a playoff race out of the way.

While the fundamental interests of baseball fans vary widely, there's little doubt that MLB and television executives are drooling over the potential matchup between two of this generation's top sluggers. Ohtani recently became the first player to hit 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season, while Judge hit 58 home runs.

Additionally, Ohtani (Los Angeles Dodgers) and Judge (New York Yankees) play in the country's two largest media markets for two of the sport's most storied franchises.

Of course, 10 other teams will be trying to keep these teams out of the Fall Classic. Last season, the Texas Rangers defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-1 to win their first title in franchise history.

Here's a look at what's to come:

Who is in the MLB playoffs? Who else is fighting?

The Diamondbacks will be big fans of the New York Mets or Atlanta Braves for a few hours on Monday afternoon.

You're just not sure which one.

The National League playoff race comes down to a doubleheader between the Mets and Braves on Monday. The two games were postponed to one day after the scheduled end of the regular season due to Hurricane Helene, which wiped out two games of the crucial Mets-Braves series last week.

The Mets (88-72) and Braves (88-72) will both reach the playoffs if they split the doubleheader. But if a sweep occurs, the Diamondbacks (89-73) sneak into the bracket as the No. 6 seed, while the team that gets swept is eliminated.

Once the first game is over, the D-Backs will know who they are rooting for. In the event their season continues, they will have a light practice at Chase Field on Monday.

The Dodgers, Phillies, Brewers and Padres have already secured four of the six NL playoff spots. Both the Brewers and Padres will host a Wild Card Series starting Tuesday, while the Dodgers and Phillies got some rest by securing the top seeds.

The American League bracket is set. The No. 6 Tigers travel to face the No. 3 Astros, while the No. 5 Royals face the No. 4 Orioles in the two Wild Card Series starting Tuesday. The Yankees and Guardians are the top seeds.

How does the wild card round work in baseball?

The best-of-three wildcard format is entering its third season. The format changed in 2022 from the sudden-death one-game format that had been in place since 2012, except for the 2020 season affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Six teams each from the American League and the National League qualify for the postseason, including the three division winners from each league. The three wild card teams in each league are the teams with the best record that did not win their division.

The top two division winners with the best record in each league receive a bye and do not have to play in the wild card round. These four teams get a few days' rest. These teams are the Yankees and Guardians in the American League and the Phillies and Dodgers in the National League.

The Wild Card Round includes four series: The No. 6 seed plays the No. 3 seed in both the AL and NL. The number 5 will play against the number 4.

A big advantage for the higher seeds in these wildcard series is that they get to host all three games.

Rule changes

Many of baseball's recent rule changes are still in effect in the postseason, including the pitch clock, a ban on extreme infield shifts and a limit on how many times a pitcher can come off the rubber. The pitch clock was a major change for the sport and was widely celebrated as it shortened game times by about half an hour.

There is one rule that doesn't make the postseason cut: the so-called “ghost runner” in extra innings.

During the MLB regular season, if a game goes extra innings, a runner is placed at second base to start the 10th inning when each team bats. That won't happen in the postseason. Additional innings are played the same as the previous nine.

Betting favorites

According to BetMGM Sportsbook, the Dodgers are the current betting favorites to win the World Series at +325, followed by the Yankees (+450) and Phillies (+450).

Here's how to watch

The wild card rounds will be broadcast on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. The later rounds will be split between FS1, TruTV, TBS and Fox.

Postseason schedule

Wildcard series: 1st–3rd October

Division Series: 5th-12th October

League Championship Series: 13-22 October

World Series: Oct. 25 – Nov. 2