The Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies play a key MLB Wild Card game on Thursday, but both teams are in the dark about a major detail.
MLB has certainly improved many aspects of its games in recent seasons, including speeding them up with a pitch clock and the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System. But the league is putting two NL East teams in a tough spot heading into their decisive Game 3.
The Phillies earned an important 4-3 victory on Wednesday to force the series-deciding game. However, both Atlanta and Philadelphia have no idea what time they’re playing as MLB awaits other results.
The league revealed two potential start times for Game 3, either 2:15 p.m. ET or 8:15 p.m. ET. That’s a stark difference in preparation time for two rivals looking to reach the NL Divisional Round.
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It’s always something with MLB
The winner of the Atlanta-Philly series will face the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday, Oct. 3. Meanwhile, MLB is receiving backlash about its decision to make tomorrow’s teams wait to learn their Game 3 start time.
The battle between the Braves and Phillies has no shortage of stars, as Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and Ronald Acuna Jr. are all involved. Those three players have been crucial in the first two games of the series, with Harper and Schwarber blasting home runs in Game 2.
Despite all that’s at stake, the league is waiting on the outcomes of the Red Sox-Yankees and Cubs-Padres matchups on Wednesday evening. And with the first pitch of the latter not until 10:00 p.m. ET., there probably won’t be a Game 2 winner until Thursday morning on the East Coast.
The Yankees and Padres currently lead 1-0 in their respective series. If either team loses on Wednesday, MLB is expected to keep the Braves and Phillies slotted in at 2:15 p.m. ET.
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But if both teams move on to the next round with Game 2 wins, it’s likely that the Braves and Phillies will be pushed to the 8:15 p.m. evening slot.
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