MLB Tiebreakers 2018: Start Time, TV Channel, Betting Odds For Cubs-Brewers, Dodgers-Rockies

The usual 162 games weren’t enough to determine all of the division winners in the 2018 MLB season. The NL Central and NL West champions will be decided Monday afternoon with a pair of tiebreaker games.

The Chicago Cubs will host the Milwaukee Brewers at 1 p.m. EDT with first place in the NL Central on the line. The Colorado Rockies will visit the Los Angeles Dodgers at 4 p.m. EDT for the NL West title. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN.

All four teams have clinched playoff berths, but the two winners Monday will earn a spot in the NLDS. Monday’s losers will be back on the field Tuesday, forced to face off in the single-game elimination NL Wild-Card Game.

Because the Cubs and Brewers are tied for the NL lead with 95 wins, the winner at Wrigley Field will earn home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs and host the winner of the wild-card game in the NLDS. The loser will host Tuesday’s wild-card game, which means Chicago and Milwaukee could very well meet each other again in just a few days in the NLDS.

The loser of Monday’s matchup between Los Angeles and Colorado will travel to either Chicago or Milwaukee for Tuesday’s game. The NL West winner will have home-field advantage against the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS.

The Brewers and Dodgers both entered the final weekend of the regular season a game out of first place. Milwaukee swept the Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles swept a three-game series in San Francisco. The Cubs and Rockies both suffered losses Saturday to allow their division rivals to grab a share of the lead in their respective divisions.

Milwaukee hasn’t announced a starting pitcher for Monday’s 163rd regular season game. Jose Quintana will take the hill for Chicago. Quintana has a 3.05 ERA in his last eight starts. He went 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA in two starts against the Brewers during that span.

It’s going to be Colorado’s German Marquez against Los Angeles’ Walker Buehler in the late afternoon contest. Marquez is fifth in the NL in strikeouts. Buehler has a 2.22 ERA in 12 starts since the All-Star break.