Baseball’s regular season ended Sunday.
Now, we wait.
The Braves have five full days before they play Game 1 of the National League Division Series against a to-be-determined opponent. Their postseason starts Saturday. So, they rest.
Here is what you need to know as the Braves begin the 2023 Major League Baseball playoffs with the aim of a second World Series in three years.
Baseball’s best: The Braves have the best record in all of baseball and will have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, including the World Series. Truist Park will be the place to be.
First-round bye: The Braves, as the No. 1 seed, won’t play in the Wild Card round, which begins on Tuesday. The Braves will play the winner of the best-of-three series between the No. 4 Phillies and the No. 5 Marlins in the NLDS. The Phillies opponent wasn’t decided until the final day of the regular season Sunday when both the Marlins and Diamondbacks lost. The Marlins held the tiebreaker over the Diamonbacks, meaning they would not have to resume a rain-delayed game at the Mets on Monday and earned the better seed.
The Braves went 8-5 against the Phillies and 9-4 against the Marlins in the regular season.
The other NL Wild Card series will be the No. 3 Brewers against the No. 6 Diamondbacks. The No. 2 Dodgers await the winner of that series.
NLDS: The Braves will host the first two games and the final game, if necessary, of the best-of-five series. The winner advances to the NL Championship Series. The Braves would also have home-field advantage in the best-of-seven series.
Schedule: Here is the schedule for the NLDS.
Game 1: Saturday at Braves
Game 2: Monday, Oct. 9 at Braves
Game 3: Wednesday, Oct. 11 at Opponent
Game 4*: Thursday, Oct. 12 at Opponent
Game 5*: Saturday, Oct. 14 at Braves
All games on TBS. Times to be determined.
Tickets: The Braves announced that tickers for NLDS and NLCS games at Truist Park have sold out through the team. Sellouts are expected. Tickets for NLDS games at SeatGeek are still available beginning at $63 for Game 1, $50 for Game 2 and $60 for Game 5 (if necessary) all in the 400 level. There are some Standing Room Only tickets available.
Workouts: The Braves will hold workouts at Truist Park on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. They will be open to the public for free. They will also have a closed workout on Friday. To register for the open workouts, fans must visit Braves.com/Postseason. Ballpark fare will be available at select concession stands, and postseason merchandise will be available for purchase in the Braves Clubhouse Store. The workouts are expected to begin at approximately 5 p.m. Gates open at 4:30 p.m. Parking is free at all Braves owned lots for up to three hours.
Pitching: Ace Max Fried is scheduled to come off the injured in time for Game 1 of the NLDS. He and Spencer Strider figure to pitch the first two games at home. The rest of the starters are to be determined but Charlie Morton, also on the injured list, won’t be eligible for the NLDS. The Braves will announce the full roster for the NLDS on Saturday prior to Game 1.
American League: The six teams are set but seedings will be determined on Sunday. The Orioles (No. 1), Twins, Rays, Rangers, Blue Jays and Astros are all in.
