MLB Playoffs 2020: Odds, TV Schedule, Predictions for World Series

After a Wild Card Round that was largely chalk, the Major League Baseball postseason resumes Monday with a Division Series that is loaded with enough drama and storylines to fill a massive textbook.

Of the eight teams still playing, six of them swept their way through the Wild Card Round. The top four teams by record during the regular season—the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays, San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics—are still chasing their dreams of winning a World Series.

Ahead of the start of Division Series week, here's all the information you need before the action begins.

American League Division Series

Houston Astros (+116) vs. Oakland Athletics (-136)

Game 1: Monday, Oct. 5 at 4:07 p.m. ET

Game 2: Tuesday, Oct. 6 (Time: TBD)

Game 3: Wednesday, Oct. 7 (Time: TBD)

Game 4. Thursday, Oct. 8 (If Necessary; Time: TBD)

Game 5: Friday Oct. 9 (If Necessary; Time: TBD)

New York Yankees (-132) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (+114)

Game 1: Monday, Oct. 5 at 8:07 p.m. ET

Game 2: Tuesday, Oct. 6 (Time: TBD)

Game 3: Wednesday, Oct. 7 (Time: TBD)

Game 4. Thursday, Oct. 8 (If Necessary; Time: TBD)

Game 5: Friday, Oct. 9 (If Necessary; Time: TBD)

All Games Broadcast on TBS.

National League Division Series

Miami Marlins (+245) vs. Atlanta Braves (-300)

Game 1: Tuesday, Oct. 6 (Time: TBD)

Game 2: Wednesday, Oct. 7 (Time: TBD)

Game 3: Thursday, Oct. 8 (Time: TBD)

Game 4: Friday, Oct. 9 (If Necessary; Time: TBD)

Game 5: Saturday, Oct. 10 (If Necessary; Time: TBD)

San Diego Padres (+184) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (-220)

Game 1: Tuesday, Oct. 6 (Time: TBD)

Game 2: Wednesday, Oct. 7 (Time: TBD)

Game 3: Thursday, Oct. 8 (Time: TBD)

Game 4: Friday, Oct. 9 (If Necessary; Time: TBD)

Game 5: Saturday, Oct. 10 (If Necessary; Time: TBD)

Playoff odds via FanDuel. Games Broadcast on MLB Network and FS1.

World Series Prediction

There's a case to be made that the NLDS between the Padres and Dodgers is a matchup between the two best teams in the National League. They had the best records in the league, but because of how MLB set up the seeding, they have to play in this round instead of a potential NLCS.

Even though the Miami Marlins are a fun story, they are clearly overmatched against the Atlanta Braves in the other NLDS. If Atlanta doesn't have the best lineup in MLB, it might have the best trio in Ronald Acuna Jr., Freddie Freeman and Marcell Ozuna.

"Together, Acuna, Ozuna and Freeman have hit .303/.420/.602 with 29 homers and a 166 wRC+ in 481 plate appearances this season," MLB.com's Thomas Harrigan wrote Sept. 9. "The trio was especially productive during Atlanta’s 13-6 stretch from Aug. 15 through Sept. 6, swatting 18 homers and recording a 1.271 OPS with a 226 wRC+.

The Marlins have a budding superstar in their rotation named Sixto Sanchez, but the 22-year-old has made just eight starts all season, including his playoff debut against the Chicago Cubs on Friday. They are building a good thing in Miami, but Atlanta is the better team.

That leaves the Braves to play either the Dodgers or Padres in the NLCS. There are a lot of ways to think about a matchup between those teams, though the health of San Diego's top two starting pitchers is likely simple enough to decide the winner.

Mike Clevinger and Dinelson Lamet were left off the Padres' wild-card roster with arm injuries. Manager Jayce Tingler told reporters before Game 3 against the St. Louis Cardinals that there's "maybe" a "possibility" both could return for the NLDS.

Playing the Dodgers is hard enough for any team, so trying to do it without your top two starters makes the task exponentially more difficult.

An NLCS between the Dodgers and Braves would likely be a high-scoring affair. Their offenses ranked top three in MLB in weighted runs created plus, weighted on-base average and runs scored.

The difference is Los Angeles' pitching depth is as good as any team in MLB. Manager Dave Roberts has Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw, Dustin May, Julio Urias and Tony Gonsolin to start games. He can also put Urias and Gonsolin in the bullpen to provide depth.

The Braves have Max Fried and Ian Anderson to start the first two games, but they don't have another pitcher who made at least five starts post an ERA under 4.76. Unless Fried and Anderson are able to shut out the Dodgers lineup like they did Cincinnati's for two games in the Wild Card Round, the Braves will have a difficult time keeping pace.

Things look much more interesting in the AL, especially with the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays series. They were expected to be the top two teams in the league when the season began and were on that pace until injuries started wreaking havoc on New York's roster.

The Yankees looked as healthy in their wild-card series against Cleveland as they have since starting 16-6. Their offense put up 22 runs in two games against a Cleveland pitching staff that had a 3.29 ERA during the regular season.

To reach the ALCS, New York will have to slow down a Rays team that it went 2-8 against during the regular season. The Yankees' midseason slide, which included a seven game losing streak from Aug. 18-28, began with a three-game sweep against Tampa Bay.

That does come with a huge caveat because Aaron Judge, DJ LeMahieu and Giancarlo Stanton weren't available in that series.

New York is going to have the pitching edge in Game 1 with Gerrit Cole, who had no problem against Cleveland, lined up to start opposite Blake Snell.

The Yankees' top three starters (Cole, Masahiro Tanaka, J.A. Happ) are on par with Tampa Bay's (Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Charlie Morton). The Rays have a deeper bullpen, but Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton and Chad Green can give the Yankees a lot of innings.

The other series between the Athletics and Houston Astros doesn't seem like it should be all that close. Houston's bullpen will likely be relying on a lot of young, inexperienced pitchers to get critical outs, as ESPN's David Schoenfield noted:

"The roster against the Twins included Ryan Pressly and Josh James -- and five rookies (although one of those rookies was 32-year-old Brooks Raley). James could be the important guy here. He fanned 100 in 61⅓ innings last year, started 2020 with two bad starts before moving back to the bullpen, then struggled initially in relief before ending the season with five scoreless outings in which he seemed to find the strike zone again."

Anything can happen in a short playoff series, but the Astros' starting rotation without Cole and Justin Verlander doesn't intimidate anyone. Zack Greinke is still an effective pitcher, but he posted a 5.73 ERA in his last seven starts of the regular season. He followed that up with three walks and one strikeout in four innings against the Minnesota Twins in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card series.

In a potential ALCS matchup, the Yankees look like the team to beat. Cole's ability to shut down any lineup in the world gives the pinstripes an advantage in Game 1. The only A's starter with an ERA under 4.00 during the regular season was Chris Bassitt (2.29).

Assuming things follow this pattern, the World Series will feature a marquee showdown between the Yankees and Dodgers.

Los Angeles has been the best team in the sport for the past two years but doesn't have a championship to show for it. That will change at the end of October when the Dodgers win their first World Series since 1988.

Prediction: Dodgers beat Yankees in six games to win World Series.