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The MLB Playoffs are back with the 2021 regular season officially a wrap. The American League opens the playoffs on Tuesday and then the Los Angeles Dodgers will host the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday in the National League’s Wild Card game. First pitch is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. ET for the one-game playoff at Dodger Stadium. The winner will advance to face the San Francisco Giants in a best-of-five series.
This is the fifth postseason matchup and sixth playoff type series if you include the 1946 three-game National League tie-breaker series. They last met in 2014, with the Cardinals beating the Dodgers in four games in the NL Division Series. They’ve met three times in the NLDS and two times in the NLCS dating back to 1985.
This is the first Wild Card game between the two teams. The Cardinals have the second most wild card berths in the NL, having three to their name prior to this game. The Dodgers have earned two wild card berths prior to this year.
St. Louis Cardinals Wild Card history
The Cardinals have made three appearances in the Wild Card round, two of which came before the expansion to two teams. They lost in the NLDS in 2001, and then made a run all the way to a World Series title in 2011. In 2012, their most recent appearance, the Cardinals beat the Braves in the Wild Card round and the Nationals in the NLDS before losing to the Giants in seven in the NLCS.
Wild Card Results
2001: Lost NLDS
2011: Won NLDS, Won NLCS, Won World Series
2012: Won WC game, Won NLDS, Lost NLCS
Los Angeles Dodgers Wild Card history
The Dodgers have made two appearances in the Wild Card round, both of which came before the expansion to two teams. Neither season resulted in advancement. The Braves swept the Dodgers in the 1996 NLDS and the Mets swept the Dodgers in the 2006 NLDS.
Wild Card Results
1996: Lost NLDS
2006: Lost NLDS