Jeff Roberson / AP
Even with the Nationals holding an eight-game lead in the National League East, Manager Matt Williams has not allowed the Nationals to peek into the future. “It’s human nature to look ahead,” Williams said. “But we cannot do that, and we must not do that.”
If they wanted to, though, they would now know when the playoffs begin, because Major League Baseball released the postseason schedule Thursday afternoon.
If the standings hold, the Nationals would host the first two games of the National League Division Series on Oct. 3 and 4, a Friday and Saturday. Both series for the National League will be played on the same dates.
The NL Championship Series will begin Oct. 11. If the Nationals maintain the best record in the National League, they would host that day.
The World Series begins Oct. 21. If the Nationals make it that far, the American League winner will hold home-field advantage by virtue of the AL’s victory in the All-Star Game. If it happens this year, the first World Series game in Washington since 1933 would come in Game 3 on Friday Oct. 24.
If the Nationals hold on to the best record in the league, their NLDS opponent would be determined in a one-game wild-card playoff played Oct. 1.
In 2012, the Nationals had the best record in the NL and opened on the road because of a scheduling quirk — the one-game playoff had just been introduced, and MLB needed to shorten the number of travel days in the series, so the Nationals played two games in St. Louis and three in Washington. This year, all series will have a traditional 2-2-1 format.