PHILADELPHIA -- It's official. The Nationals will open the postseason at home on Friday, Oct. 6, against the Cubs. The Dodgers clinched the National League's top spot Tuesday, locking the Nationals into the second seed.
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The Nationals won the season series with Chicago, 4-3. They'll host the Cubs for Games 1 and 2 (Oct. 6-7) of the NLDS presented by T-Mobile. If necessary, they will also host Game 5 on Oct. 12.
"My thoughts are: Finish the season strong, and then we worry about Chicago," Nationals manager Dusty Baker said. "We've got another four days to go, and we want to finish strong and go into the new season with some momentum."
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This will be the Nationals' fourth trip to the NLDS and the franchise's fifth postseason appearance. The Nationals have yet to advance further than the NLDS since moving to Washington in 2005. They lost to the Dodgers in last season's NLDS, to the eventual World Series-champion Giants in 2014 and to the Cardinals in 2012.