MLB Playoffs: Four games to watch on the final Sunday of the regular season
By Paul Ashley
The 2018 MLB regular season is coming to a close, but there is plenty of action to keep an eye on during the final Sunday of the season that will directly impact the upcoming MLB playoffs.
Through 162 games, the Colorado Rockies and Los Angeles Dodgers are tied for the National League West Division lead while the Chicago Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers are tied for the NL Central Division lead. The MLB schedules all of the games on the final Sunday of the regular season to start at roughly the same time in order to not allow any team to rest players after seeing the result of a game from another team.
The Dodgers will take on the San Francisco Giants on the road. Rich Hill is expected to take the mound for the Dodgers while Andrew Suarez is expected to take the mound for the Giants.
The Rockies will take on the Washington Nations at home. Tyler Anderson is currently scheduled to start for the Rockies while Erick Fedde is expected to start in place of Max Scherzer for the Nationals.
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Both the Dodgers and the Rockies have clinched a playoff spot, so they will head to the playoffs regardless of today’s results. However, with the Wild Card game being a one-game playoff, both teams would obviously prefer to win the division in order to move straight to the NLDS.
Nonetheless, if both teams remain tied after tomorrow, game 163 of the regular season will take place between the two teams to determine the division winner. The winner will then move on to the NLDS and the loser will move on to the NL Wild Card game.
The Brewers will face off in an inter-league matchup with the Detroit Tigers at home. Recently acquired Gio Gonzalez is expected to take the hill for the Brewers while Spencer Turnbull is expected to make his way to the mound for the Tigers.
The Cubs will face off with the St. Louis Cardinals at home. Mike Montgomery is currently scheduled to take the mound for the Cubs while Jack Flaherty is scheduled to take the hill for the Cardinals.
Both the Brewers and the Cubs have also already clinched a playoff spot, so they will head to the playoffs regardless of today’s results. However, much like the Rockies and Dodgers, these two teams will also require a game 163 if they remain tied following the conclusion of Sunday’s matchups.
dark. Next. Dodgers clinch a spot in the postseason
The winner of a potential game 163 between the Cubs and Brewers would move on to the NLDS, while the loser of the game would host the NL Wild Card game. A team from the NL Central will host the NL Wild Card game as the Cubs and Brewers have better overall records than the Rockies and Dodgers. This should be a very exciting end of the season as each of the aforementioned games will directly impact the MLB playoffs.