Game time, channel, how to watch and stream MLB playoffs

After defeating the St. Louis Cardinals, the Philadelphia Phillies now face the Atlanta Braves in a best-of-five divisional series that allows postseason baseball to return to Citizens Bank Park.

Phillies fans will have to toggle their watch face to find Tuesday’s game. While ESPN had the exclusive broadcast rights to all of this year’s wildcard games, National League divisional series games will air on Fox and FS1 (TBS will air both American League divisional series). Once again, none of the Phillies games will be broadcast on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

While ESPN won’t be broadcasting the game, Phillies fans will once again get their fill of Alex Rodriguez, even though the former Yankees hitter won’t be in the dressing room. A-Rod will once again be part of Fox’s studio coverage alongside host Kevin Burkhardt, former Red Sox bat David Ortiz and Hall of Famer Frank Thomas. Joining the show this postseason is Dontrelle Willis, a two-time All-Star who played primarily for the Florida Marlins and Detroit Tigers during his nine-year career.

» READ MORE: Phillies-Braves: Game 1 live updates

In recent years, Pete Rose (whose sexism and foul language was featured on NBC Sports Philadelphia in August) has been part of the team but was booted out by Fox in 2017 after allegations surfaced that he was having a sexual relationship with an underage woman the 1970s.

The Phillies went just 8-11 against the Braves this season and were swept in a three-game series in Atlanta last month. Meanwhile, the Braves haven’t been swept in a single series all year, the first time that has happened to an MLB team in 18 years.

Here’s everything you need to know to watch Game 1 of the Phillies-Braves divisional series:

Phillies-Braves is scheduled to begin at 1:07 p.m. Eastern on Fox.

With Joe Buck now on ESPN, Joe Davis, the voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers on Spectrum SportsNet LA, will call the Phillies-Braves series. He will be joined by Hall of Famer John Smolts and Ken Rosenthal will report from the stadium.

If you’re looking for a little Philly flair in the broadcast, you can always tune in to 94.1 WIP, where longtime Phillies announcer Scott Franzke will again announce the game, along with Larry Andersen, who can’t wait to return to Philadelphia.

“For me, the best part is that the Phillies are going to have a playoff game at home,” Andersen said after the team’s Game 2 win over the Cardinals on Saturday night. “They had to win that series so these guys could have the experience of playing in the playoffs in front of a Philadelphia crowd and there’s nothing quite like it.”

Bill Kulik and Oscar Budejen will call Phillies-Cardinals in Spanish at La Unika 1680 AM. The game will also be broadcast on Spanish television on Fox Deportes, with Carlos Alvarez and Jaime Motta on the phone.

» READ MORE: These Phillies remind Larry Andersen of 1993

Phillies-Braves will be streamed via the Fox Sports app, although it will only be available to those with a cable subscription.

The game will also stream on every so-called skinny bundle that includes Fox, including fuboTV, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV and DirecTV Stream. Most offer a free trial.

If you want to stream the game for free, the best option if you live near Philadelphia is to use an over-the-air antenna. But that won’t work from game 3 onwards when games move from Fox to FS1.

Phillies left-hander Ranger Suárez (10-7, 3.65 ERA) will get his first postseason start for the Phillies in Game 1. Suárez has played 15 times against the Braves in his career — six starts — and has been solid against Atlanta this season, allowing for 13 earned runs in 28 innings.

The Braves will counter in Game 1 with ace Max Fried (14-7, 2.48 ERA). Fried has the National League’s third-best ERA since the start of the 2020 season and allowed two runs or fewer in three of five postseason starts last year, according to MLB.com.

» READ MORE: Phillies’ newest pitcher Ranger Suárez makes playoff debut: ‘It’s very special for me’

While Phillies TV announcers will be watching games from their homes, NBC Sports Philadelphia will continue to provide pre- and post-game coverage for each game.

On Friday, Phillies Pregame Live will air at noon, starring Michael Barkann, Rickie Bottalico, Ben Davis and former Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro, Jr. Among those who will be in attendance in Atlanta is Tom McCarthy, the team’s longtime television voice. They will all return for Phillies Postgame Live after the game.

WIP will also provide pre- and post-game coverage moderated by Gregg Murphy.

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» READ MORE: Phillies-Braves: schedule, tickets and everything else you need to know