MLB Playoff Schedule 2014: Full Bracket and Dates for Every Game of Postseason

No matter what happened during the regular season, all 10 teams in the MLB playoffs believe they have what it takes to win the World Series.

Obviously, the Los Angeles Angels and Washington Nationals come into the postseason as top contenders after earning the best records in their respective leagues. However, baseball does not always come through the way it should on paper.

With teams fighting for their lives in the Wild Card Games, followed by a divisional round that will feature plenty of intriguing matchups, anything can happen over the next few weeks.

Make sure you catch all of the action with this guide. All schedule info courtesy of MLB.com. 

Bracket

Cork Gaines of Business Insider provided this useful bracket of the tournament:

"

For the fans of the other 20 MLB teams, here is the bracket for the playoffs most of you wont watch pic.twitter.com/oUyXxLkwrZ

— Cork Gaines (@CorkGaines) September 29, 2014"

Obviously, there are a number of potentially great matchups that could take place later in the postseason, from the "Beltway Series" of the Baltimore Orioles against the Nationals to a Los Angeles series between the Angels and the Dodgers.

Wild Card Round

League	Matchup	Date	Time (ET)	TV Info
American	OAK at KC	Tues., Sept. 30	8:07 p.m.	TBS
National	SF at PIT	Wed., Oct. 1	8:07 p.m.	ESPN

This is certainly the most intense of all the rounds because the series are decided by just one game. This means a bad pitching performance or a missed opportunity with runners in scoring position can end a season in a blink.

The first battle will be extremely interesting thanks to the great pitching matchup of veterans, as noted by USA Today:

Although the Kansas City Royals have not been in the playoffs since 1985 and the Oakland Athletics have struggled to make deep runs, both Jon Lester and James Shields are quite familiar with pitching in October.

Lester has been especially impressive in the postseason, totaling a 2.11 ERA in 13 appearances en route to two World Series titles. It will be up to Shields to match the big-game pitcher.

In the National League, the San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates will battle after each fell out of their own division races down the stretch.

TONY AVELAR/Associated Press

Madison Bumgarner has had yet another fine season and should be a safe bet or a quality start for the Giants, but Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch notes why Edinson Volquez was a great choice for the Pirates:

Both teams could end up having a tough time matching up with the Nationals in the next round, but either one will be happy to get a chance. 

Division Series

	American League
	American League
	National League
	National League
Game	Matchup	Date	Time (ET)	TV Info
1	KC/OAK at LAA	Thurs., Oct. 2	TBD	TBS
2	KC/OAK at LAA	Fri., Oct. 3	TBD	TBS
3	LAA at KC/OAK	Sun., Oct. 5	TBD	TBS
4*	LAA at KC/OAK	Mon., Oct. 6	TBD	TBS
5*	KC/OAK at LAA	Wed., Oct. 8	TBD	TBS
Game	Matchup	Date	Time (ET)	TV Info
1	DET at BAL	Thurs., Oct. 2	TBD	TBS
2	DET at BAL	Fri., Oct. 3	TBD	TBS
3	BAL at DET	Sun., Oct. 5	TBD	TBS
4*	BAL at DET	Mon., Oct. 6	TBD	TBS
5*	DET at BAL	Wed., Oct. 8	TBD	TBS
Game	Matchup	Date	Time (ET)	TV Info
1	NL Wild Card at WSH	Fri., Oct. 3	TBA	FS1
2	NL Wild Card at WSH	Sat., Oct. 4	TBA	FS1 or MLBN
3	WSH at NL Wild Card	Mon., Oct. 6	TBA	FS1 or MLBN
4*	WSH at NL Wild Card	Tues., Oct. 7	TBA	FS1
5*	NL Wild Card at WSH	Thurs., Oct. 9	TBA	FS1
Game	Matchup	Date	Time (ET)	TV Info
1	STL at LAD	Fri., Oct. 3	TBA	FS1
2	STL at LAD	Sat., Oct. 4	TBA	FS1 or MLBN
3	LAD at STL	Mon., Oct. 6	TBA	FS1 or MLBN
4*	LAD at STL	Tues., Oct. 7	TBA	FS1
5*	STL at LAD	Thurs., Oct. 9	TBA	FS1

The Detroit Tigers might have sneaked into the playoffs, but they are a scary bunch after winning their division. Pedro Martinez discusses the advantage they have going forward:

While the Orioles have had a great season to tie for the second-best record in baseball, it is hard to match up with a rotation that includes David Price, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, the latter of which remains a threat based on pure stuff regardless of his regular-season numbers.

After dealing with various injuries all season, Baltimore could be in trouble. 

In the other series, the Angels will try to continue their outstanding season and cap the year off with a deep run in the playoffs. 

Behind MVP-favorite Mike Trout, Los Angeles leads the majors in runs scored with a lineup that seemingly never gets easier for opposing pitchers.

While there are questions about whether the pitching staff can hold up, this team is good enough to have an advantage over any opponent it faces this postseason.

The Nationals have the same mindset with as complete of a roster as there is in the majors. Washington ranks first in the majors in team ERA, which also includes the best starter ERA in baseball and a bullpen that ranks fourth in the category. 

Meanwhile, the lineup does not have many holes with hitters who can make an impact from the top to bottom. Rookie manager Matt Williams brings it all together, as explained by first baseman Adam LaRoche to Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post:

"

It’s hard to say when you’re in the middle of it, but he was huge. He had a great combination of knowing when to get fired up and keeping that mentality of when he was a player, and knowing when to come in and drop a joke and knowing when somebody needed a break and when to lighten the mood. He’s been huge for us. He had the respect of the guys in spring training because of what he did as a player, and I think he’s earned the respect as a manager and leader of this team. That says a lot.

"

No matter who earns the wild-card spot between the Pirates and Giants, the Nationals should have an advantage in the first series.

This leaves the battle between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers, which could end up being the best series in the playoffs.

Andy Banker of Fox 2 notes how consistent the Cardinals have been for more than a decade:

However, the Dodgers have one of the best offenses in baseball and Clayton Kershaw capable of shutting down any opponent. The more he pitches, the better chance Los Angeles has of making a deep run in the playoffs. 

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Remaining Rounds

	American League
	National League
Game	Matchup	Date	Time (ET)	TV Info
1	Lower Seed at Higher Seed	Fri., Oct. 10	TBA	TBS
2	Lower Seed at Higher Seed	Sat., Oct. 11	TBA	TBS
3	Higher Seed at Lower Seed	Mon., Oct. 13	TBA	TBS
4	Higher Seed at Lower Seed	Tues., Oct. 14	TBA	TBS
5*	Higher Seed at Lower Seed	Wed., Oct. 15	TBA	TBS
6*	Lower Seed at Higher Seed	Fri., Oct. 17	TBA	TBS
7*	Lower Seed at Higher Seed	Sat., Oct. 18	TBA	TBS
Game	Matchup	Date	Time (ET)	TV Info
1	Lower Seed at Higher Seed	Sat., Oct. 11	TBA	Fox
2	Lower Seed at Higher Seed	Sun., Oct. 12	TBA	FS1
3	Higher Seed at Lower Seed	Tues., Oct. 14	TBA	FS1
4	Higher Seed at Lower Seed	Wed., Oct. 15	TBA	FS1
5*	Higher Seed at Lower Seed	Thurs., Oct. 16	TBA	FS1
6*	Lower Seed at Higher Seed	Sat., Oct. 18	TBA	Fox
7*	Lower Seed at Higher Seed	Sun., Oct. 19	TBA	FS1

Game	Matchup	Date	Time (ET)	TV Info
1	NL Winner vs. AL Winner	Tues., Oct. 21	TBA	Fox
2	NL Winner vs. AL Winner	Wed., Oct. 22	TBA	Fox
3	AL Winner vs. NL Winner	Fri., Oct. 24	TBA	Fox
4	AL Winner vs. NL Winner	Sat., Oct. 25	TBA	Fox
5*	AL Winner vs. NL Winner	Sun., Oct. 26	TBA	Fox
6*	NL Winner vs. AL Winner	Tues., Oct. 28	TBA	Fox
7*	NL Winner vs. AL Winner	Wed., Oct. 29	TBA	Fox

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