MLB playoff tracker: Who is in, who gets home-field advantage

MLB playoff tracker: Dodgers to play either the Brewers or Diamondbacks in the NLDS

By Steve HensonStaff Writer

Published Sept. 18, 2023 Updated Oct. 2, 2023 8:14 AM PT

The Dodgers fell short of their last quest — gaining home-field advantage in a potential World Series against the Baltimore Orioles — but Sunday did reach 100 victories for the third year in a row and fourth in a row during a full-length season.

The Dodgers would have home-field advantage in the Fall Classic against any other American League team. The World Series team with the better regular-season record plays host to Games 1 and 2, and Games 6 and 7 if necessary, making the home-field advantage particularly consequential in a Game 7.

The Dodgers (100-62) are seeded No. 2 among the six NL playoff teams, and will play the winner of a three-game wild card series between the No. 3-seeded Milwaukee Brewers (92-70) and No. 6 Arizona Diamondbacks (84-78) in the NL Division Series.

The NL East champion Atlanta Braves (104-58) are the No. 1 seed and will face the winner of a wild card series between the No. 4-seeded Philadelphia Phillies (90-72) and No. 5 Miami Marlins (84-77) in the NLDS.

The Braves and Dodgers are guaranteed a bye through the best-of-three wild card round, then hold home-field advantage in the best-of-five division series in a 2-2-1 format. Should they advance to the best-of-seven NL Championship Series, the Dodgers would have home-field advantage against any opponent except the Braves in a 2-3-2 format.

The Braves and Dodgers are idle for five days with all four division series scheduled to begin Oct. 7.

In the American League, the Orioles (101-61) won the East and earned home-field advantage through the ALCS. Only the Braves would have home-field advantage over them in the World Series.

The AL West sorted itself out Sunday. The Houston Astros (90-72) seized the title with a victory over the Diamondbacks while the Texas Rangers (90-72) lost to the Seattle Mariners and also lost the division tiebreaker to the Astros, who are seeded No. 2 while attempting to repeat as World Series champions for the first time since the New York Yankees won three in a row from 1998-2000.

The Central-champion Minnesota Twins (87-75) are the No. 3 seed and face the No. 6 seed Toronto Blue Jays (89-73) — the third-place team in the East — in a wild card series beginning Tuesday. The No. 4 seed Tampa Bay Rays (99-63) finished second in the East and play the No. 5 seed Rangers in the other wild card series.

For the Dodgers, attaining 100 victories for the fifth time since 2017 by winning their last game Sunday against the San Francisco Giants was quite an achievement considering they hawon 100 or more games only five times from 1900 to 2016.

Reaching triple-digit wins is no guarantee of becoming World Series champion. None of the Dodgers’ previous nine 100-victory seasons since 1900 resulted in a title — their 2020 World Series championship came after the pandemic-shortened 60-game regular season.

And in two of the seasons, the Dodgers didn’t even win the NL pennant, finishing second to the Giants in 1962 and to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1942.