MLB Playoffs 2017 Schedule: Dates, Start Times, TV Channels For Division Series

Closing pitcher Kenley Jansen of the Los Angeles Dodgers is mobbed by his teammates after their 4-2 win in an MLB game against the San Francisco Giants to clinch their fifth consecutive National League West title at Dodger Stadium on Sept. 22, 2017 in Los Angeles. Getty Images

With the New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks having won the two wild-card games, the American League and National League division series are set to get underway. Eight teams remain alive in the 2017 MLB Playoffs, hoping to win seven games and reach the World Series.

The schedule starts Thursday afternoon with the ALDS when the Boston Red Sox visit the Houston Astros. Game 1 between the Yankees and Cleveland Indians is set for Thursday night. The NLDS between the Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals, as well as the series between the Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers, begins Friday night.

L.A. is the favorite in the NL, having home-field advantage throughout the postseason because of a 104-win regular season. Cleveland is the AL favorite with 102 victories.

Cleveland nearly won last year’s World Series, blowing a 3-1 series lead and losing to the Cubs in extra innings of Game 7. L.A. was defeated by Chicago in the 2016 NLCS, once again coming up short in the playoffs. The Dodgers have reached the postseason every year since 2013, never making an appearance in the World Series.

The Nationals are looking to win their first playoff series since moving to Washington D.C. Washington reached the playoffs in 2012, 2014 and 2016, failing to get out of the NLDS each year. They are favored to beat the Cubs, who are trying to become the first team since the 2000 Yankees to repeat as World Series champions.

Here’s a look at the schedule for all four division series, including dates, start times and TV channels:

New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Indians

Game 1: Thursday, Oct. 5 at Cleveland, 7:30 p.m. EDT, FS1

Game 2: Friday, Oct. 6 at Cleveland, 5 p.m. EDT, MLB Network

Game 3: Sunday, Oct. 8 at New York, 7:30 p.m. EDT, FS1

Game 4*: Monday, Oct. 9 at New York, TBD, FS1

Game 5*: Wednesday, Oct. 11 at Cleveland, TBD, FS1

Boston Red Sox vs. Houston Astros

Game 1: Thursday, Oct. 5 at Houston, 4 p.m. EDT, MLB Network

Game 2: Friday, Oct. 6 at Houston, 2 p.m. EDT, FS1

Game 3: Sunday, Oct. 8 at Boston, 2:30 p.m. EDT, FS1

Game 4*: Monday, Oct. 9 at Boston, TBD, FS1