A capsule look at the best-of-five National League Division Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants:
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Schedule: (All times EDT) Game 1, Friday, at San Francisco, 6:37 p.m. (TBS); Game 2, Saturday, at San Francisco, 6:07 p.m. (TBS); Game 3, Monday, Oct. 11, at Los Angeles, 6:37 p.m. (TBS); x-Game 4, Tuesday, Oct. 12, at Los Angeles, 6:07 p.m. (TBS); x-Game 5, Thursday, Oct. 14, at San Francisco, 6:07 p.m. (TBS).
x-if necessary.
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Season Series: Giants won 10-9.
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Record: 106-56.
Playoff Entry: NL wild card.
Manager: Dave Roberts (sixth season).
Projected Rotation: RHP Walker Buehler (16-4, 2.47 ERA, 212 Ks, 207 2/3 IP), LHP Julio Urías (20-3, 2.96, 195 Ks, 185 2/3 IP), RHP Max Scherzer (15-4, 2.46, 236 Ks in 179 1/3 IP; 7-0, 1.98, 89 Ks with Dodgers and 8-4, 2.76, 147 Ks with Washington).
Top Hitters: 2B Trea Turner (.338, 9 HRs, 24 RBIs with Dodgers; .322, 18, 49 with Washington. Had MLB-leading 195 hits, 32 SBs, 319 total bases), SS Corey Seager (.306, 16, 57), LF AJ Pollock (.297, 21, 69).
Top Relievers: RHP Kenley Jansen (4-4, 2.22 ERA, 38/43 saves), RHP Blake Treinen (6-5, 1.99, 7 saves).
October Glance: The Dodgers are in the playoffs for the ninth straight year and are defending their first World Series championship since 1988. They finished second to rival San Francisco by a game in the NL West in a race that went down to the last day of the regular season, snapping their streak of eight consecutive division titles. ... Their record of 106-56 is the best of any defending World Series champion since 1969, when divisional play began. ... Defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 in the NL wild-card game on two-run homer by Chris Taylor in bottom of the ninth inning. ... Dodgers were an MLB-best 58-23 at home, ending the regular season on a franchise-record 15-game winning streak at Dodger Stadium. ... LA was 48-33 on the road. ... Urías became first Dodgers pitcher to win 20 games since LHP Clayton Kershaw won 21 in 2014. ... Dodgers pulled off a blockbuster deal at the July 30 trade deadline, getting Scherzer and Turner from Washington for prospects. Scherzer is a strong candidate for the NL Cy Young Award and Turner has made a case for NL MVP after winning his first batting title. He is riding a career-high 20-game hitting streak, including the wild-card game. ... Kershaw sat out two months with left forearm inflammation and went back on the injured list last week for the same reason. He is expected to miss the entire postseason. ... 3B Justin Turner has a club-record 13 postseason homers, including one in the wild-card game. ... OF Cody Bellinger spent time on the IL and has been mired in a season-long slump, which cost him his starting spot. The 2019 NL MVP batted .165 with 10 HRs and 36 RBIs. But he singled, walked twice and stole two bases in the wild-card game. ... Matt Beaty and Albert Pujols could play important roles at first base after Max Muncy injured his left elbow in the regular-season finale. Pujols has been a valuable and popular backup with the Dodgers after being cast aside by the Angels earlier this season.
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Record: 107-55.
Playoff Entry: NL West champion.
Manager: Gabe Kapler (second season).
Projected Rotation: RHP Logan Webb (11-3, 3.03 ERA), RHP Kevin Gausman (14-6, 2.81, 227 Ks), LHP Alex Wood (10-4, 3.83), RHP Anthony DeSclafani (13-7, 3.17).
Top Hitters: SS Brandon Crawford (.298, 24 HRs, 90 RBIs, 30 2Bs, .895 OPS), C Buster Posey (.304, 18, 56, .889 OPS), RF Mike Yastrzemski (.224, 25, 71).
Top Relievers: LHP Jake McGee (3-2, 2.72 ERA, 31/36 saves), RHP Tyler Rogers (7-1, 2.22, 13 saves), LHP Jarlin Garcia (6-3, 2.62, 1 save).
October Glance: The Giants are in the playoffs for the first time since 2016 after setting a franchise record with 107 wins and clinching the division title on the final day of the regular season. ... San Francisco wasn’t picked to contend but outlasted the defending World Series champion Dodgers in one of the tightest division races ever. ... The Giants moved into first place for good on May 31 but never led by more than five games. ... This will be the first playoff meeting between the longtime rivals, although the Giants won regular-season tiebreaker series for the National League pennant in 1951 and 1962. ... Posey is the only player on the roster who was part of all three World Series champions in 2010, ’12 and ’14. Posey can join Sandy Koufax and Johnny Podres as the only NL players to win four titles with one franchise. ... The Giants set a franchise record with 241 HRs despite not having a single player hit 30. They had a record 17 players with at least five HRs. ... 1B Brandon Belt led the team with 29 HRs but went on the IL with a broken left thumb last week and will miss the series. ... The Giants set a record with 18 pinch-hit HRs, led by four from Austin Slater and three from Alex Dickerson. ... OF LaMonte Wade Jr. earned the nickname “Late Night LaMonte” thanks to six tying or go-ahead hits in Giants wins this season. Wade was 13 for 23 (.565) for the best average in the ninth inning (minimum 20 ABs) since Jim Thome hit .690 in 2004. ... Trade-deadline acquisition Kris Bryant ended the season in a 5-for-30 slump. ... San Francisco’s bullpen led the majors with a 2.99 ERA and featured six relievers who threw at least 50 innings with an ERA lower than 3.00. ... McGee is back as the closer after missing the final three weeks with an oblique injury. ... Rookie right-hander Camilo Doval played a big role down the stretch, throwing 14 1/3 scoreless innings in the final month with three saves.