Why Mets-Phillies NLDS games are stuck in non-primetime slots
Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper looks on during a baseball workout in Philadelphia, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, ahead of the National League Division Series against the New York Mets. Credit: AP/Chris Szagola
PHILADELPHIA — All five potential games between the Mets and Phillies in their NL Division Series are set for start times in the late afternoon or early evening.
Here is the full schedule:
* Game 1 (Philadelphia): 4:08 p.m. Saturday
* Game 2 (Philadelphia): 4:08 p.m. Sunday
* Game 3 (New York): 5:08 p.m. Tuesday
* Game 4 (New York): 5:08 p.m. Wednesday
* Game 5 (Philadelphia): 4:08 p.m. Friday
The high-profile matchup between division rivals got stuck in non-primetime slots for several reasons, primarily because the other NLDS, Padres-Dodgers, is both a highly-hyped matchup (featuring Shohei Ohtani’s first postseason) and exclusively out west.
MLB, which always staggers playoff games, doesn’t want those clubs playing in the early afternoon local time, so they get the East Coast nighttime sweet spot, which means Mets-Phillies has to happen earlier in the day.
It is possible some of the late-series games change times. For example, if Padres-Dodgers ends in three games, Phillies-Mets Game 4 would get bumped back, but only to 6:08 p.m. In that instance, Yankees-Royals gets prioritized with the 8:08 p.m. assignment.
If Padres-Dodgers ends before five games, though, the deciding Game 5 of Mets-Phillies would go at 8:08 p.m. It would be the only game on the schedule that day.
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
