MLB playoffs on TV: How to watch every wild card game

Things are about to get wild for sports fans.

We were robbed of March Madness this year but will get something similar to the frenetic, jam-packed first days of the NCAA basketball tournaments when the MLB postseason begins with the wild card round this week.

An unprecedented 16 teams qualified for the playoffs, but by Friday the field will be cut in half following these best-of-three series:

American League — Toronto Blue Jays (8) at Tampa Bay Rays (1); Chicago White Sox (7) at Oakland Athletics (2); Houston Astros (6) at Minnesota Twins (3); New York Yankees (5) at Cleveland Indians (4).

Dodgers

MLB postseason bracket: Dodgers open wild-card playoffs against Brewers

The Dodgers will open the MLB wild-card playoffs Wednesday against a Milwaukee Brewers team that backed its way into the National League’s No. 8 seed.

Sept. 27, 2020

National League — Milwaukee Brewers (8) at Dodgers (1); Cincinnati Reds (7) at Atlanta Braves (2) ; Miami Marlins (6) at Chicago Cubs (3); St. Louis Cardinals (5) at San Diego Padres (4).

So, yeah, it’s going to be a stressful few days for fans of those teams. But look at it this way — we’re getting as many as eight playoff games a day. That should make for entertaining viewing all week.

Here’s the TV schedule for the wild card round (teams, time, network; all times Pacific).

Tuesday

Houston Astros at Minnesota Twins, 11 a.m., ABC

Chicago White Sox at Oakland Athletics, noon, ESPN

Toronto Blue Jays at Tampa Bay Rays, 2 p.m., ABC

New York Yankees at Cleveland Indians, 4 p.m., ESPN

Wednesday

Cincinnati Reds at Atlanta Braves, 9 a.m., ESPN

Houston Astros at Minnesota Twins, 10 a.m., ESPN2

Miami Marlins at Chicago Cubs, 11 a.m., ABC

Toronto Blue Jays at Tampa Bay Rays, 1 p.m., TBS

Chicago White Sox at Oakland Athletics, noon, ESPN

St. Louis Cardinals at San Diego Padres, 2 p.m., ESPN2

New York Yankees at Cleveland Indians, 4 p.m., ESPN

Milwaukee Brewers at Dodgers, 7 p.m., ESPN

Thursday

Toronto Blue Jays at Tampa Bay Rays, TBD, TBS (if necessary)

Chicago White Sox at Oakland Athletics, TBD, ESPN/TBS (if necessary)

Houston Astros at Minnesota Twins, TBD, ESPN/TBS (if necessary)

New York Yankees at Cleveland Indians, TBD, ESPN/TBS (if necessary)

Milwaukee Brewers at Dodgers, TBD, ESPN/TBS

Cincinnati Reds at Atlanta Braves, TBD, ESPN/TBS

Miami Marlins at Chicago Cubs, TBD, ESPN/TBS

St. Louis Cardinals at San Diego Padres, TBD, ESPN/TBS

Friday

Milwaukee Brewers at Dodgers, TBD, ESPN/TBS (if necessary)

Cincinnati Reds at Atlanta Braves, TBD, ESPN/TBS (if necessary)

Miami Marlins at Chicago Cubs, TBD, ESPN/TBS (if necessary)

St. Louis Cardinals at San Diego Padres, TBD, ESPN/TBS (if necessary)

The division series begins Oct. 5, followed by the championship series on Oct. 11 and the World Series on Oct. 20.