So, the question on everyone’s mind in Echo Park right now is basically the same: when does Dodgers 2025 playoffs start? If you’re like me, you’ve probably got the regular season calendar etched into your brain, but the postseason is always a different beast. It’s that time of year when the air gets a little crisper, the traffic around Chavez Ravine gets ten times worse, and the stakes feel impossibly high.
The short answer is that the Dodgers 2025 playoffs start on September 30, 2025, assuming they find themselves in the Wild Card round. If they manage to snag one of those coveted top two seeds in the National League—which, honestly, is the goal every single year—they get a few extra days of rest and start their journey on October 4, 2025.
But as any baseball fan knows, nothing is ever truly that simple. The calendar is a moving target, and how the Dodgers finish the month of September changes everything about their October.
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The Push for a First-Round Bye
Let’s talk about the bracket. Major League Baseball’s current postseason format is a bit of a marathon. There are 12 teams in the mix, six from each league. The top two division winners in the National League get a "bye," meaning they skip the chaotic, heart-attack-inducing best-of-three Wild Card Series.
If the Dodgers finish as the No. 1 or No. 2 seed, they won't play their first playoff game until Saturday, October 4.
This is huge. It gives the pitching staff—guys like Yoshinobu Yamamoto and maybe even a returning Tyler Glasnow—a chance to reset. On the flip side, some fans worry about "rust." We've seen it before where teams sit for five days and come out flat against a Wild Card team that’s already in "win or go home" mode. It's a trade-off. You want the rest, but you don't want to lose that competitive edge.
If the Dodgers don't get that bye? Then things get real, real fast.
When Does Dodgers 2025 Playoffs Start if They’re a Wild Card?
If L.A. ends up as the No. 3 seed (meaning they won their division but had a worse record than the other two division winners) or one of the three Wild Card spots, their postseason begins on Tuesday, September 30.
The Wild Card Series is a brutal best-of-three. It’s played entirely at the higher seed’s home stadium. No travel days. Just three days of pure, unadulterated stress. If you're looking for the exact moment the "real" season begins for a non-bye team, that Tuesday is the date to circle in red.
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- Wild Card Series Start: September 30
- Division Series (NLDS) Start: October 4
- Championship Series (NLCS) Start: Mid-October
- World Series Start: Friday, October 24
Why the 2025 Schedule Feels Different
You might have noticed the regular season ends a bit earlier than usual. The final game of the 162-game grind is Sunday, September 28, against the Mariners in Seattle.
Because the regular season wraps up in late September, the postseason is pushed right up against the start of October. It’s a tight turnaround. Teams have exactly one day off—Monday—before the Wild Card round kicks off. If the Dodgers are flying back from Seattle to host a series in L.A., that's a lot of laundry and very little sleep for the clubhouse staff.
Honestly, the 2025 season has been a bit of a whirlwind from the jump. Remember, it started all the way back in March with the Tokyo Series against the Cubs. By the time we hit the playoffs, these guys will have been playing meaningful baseball for seven months.
Breaking Down the Potential Matchups
Who are we looking at? The National League is a gauntlet. You've got the usual suspects like the Phillies and the Braves, but don't sleep on the Brewers or even some of the younger teams making noise in the NL West.
The Dodgers' path to another World Series ring depends heavily on that seeding. If they take the NL West—which they’ve basically owned for a decade—they are almost guaranteed a top-three seed. But the difference between No. 2 and No. 3 is the difference between starting on October 4 with a fresh bullpen or starting on September 30 with your season on the line immediately.
Key Dates for Your Calendar
- September 28: Regular season ends.
- September 30: Wild Card Series Game 1 (Potential Dodgers start).
- October 4: NLDS Game 1 (Dodgers start if they have a bye).
- October 24: World Series begins.
The "Ohtani Factor" in October
We can't talk about the Dodgers 2025 playoffs start without mentioning Shohei Ohtani. After the historic 2024 he had, the expectations for 2025 are through the roof. Watching him in a Dodger uniform during a postseason atmosphere at Dodger Stadium is something fans have been waiting for since the second he signed that contract.
The energy in the stadium when the playoffs start is unlike anything else. It's louder, more tense, and every pitch feels like it takes five minutes. Whether it starts on the 30th or the 4th, the city of Los Angeles is going to be at a standstill.
How to Make Sure You're Ready
First off, check your cable or streaming subscription. Postseason games usually bounce between FOX, FS1, and TBS. If you’re planning on going to a game, start looking at ticket options as soon as the "magic number" for a playoff berth gets into the single digits. Prices don't exactly go down.
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Also, keep an eye on the tiebreaker rules. MLB did away with "Game 163" a couple of seasons ago. Now, everything is decided by head-to-head records and other math-heavy stats. If the Dodgers and Phillies end up with the same record for that final bye spot, we won't get a tiebreaker game; we'll just look at who won the season series. It makes those random games in May and June matter a whole lot more.
The best thing you can do is stay flexible. The MLB postseason schedule is a bit like a living document—times are often announced only a day or two in advance because the networks want to see which matchups will pull the biggest ratings.
Next Steps for Fans:
- Sync your digital calendar with the official MLB schedule so updates flow in automatically.
- Verify your TV or streaming credentials for TBS and FOX/FS1 now to avoid "blackout" surprises in October.
- Keep an eye on the NL West standings in mid-September; if the lead is comfortable, expect Dave Roberts to start resting key starters about a week before the Dodgers 2025 playoffs start.