2020 National League Division Series

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the MLB season was reduced to 60 games. As part of a special postseason format, playoff berths were made available for eight teams in each league: three division winners, three division runners-up, and two wild card teams. With no first round byes for division winners, all teams were required to play in a Wild Card Series. Between the two leagues, Central division teams claimed three of the four wild card berths and thus made up seven of the sixteen teams in the Wild Card. However, all seven Central division teams lost their Wild Card series, thus leaving the Division series in both leagues to be contested exclusively by teams from Eastern and Western divisions. The Dodgers entered the NLDS as the top seed, having completed the regular season at and winning the NL West. The Braves won the NL East, going . The two second place teams in their respective divisions, the Marlins and the Padres, also made the NLDS. Since 2012, when MLB removed the stipulation that two teams could not play each other in the NLDS if they were in the same division, there had been six occasions when an NLDS had at least one series with two division opponents. This was the seventh time that this occurred, and also the first time since the strike-affected 1981 National League Division Series (where division opponents were assured of facing each other on a one-time basis) that both NLDS match-ups consisted of division opponents facing each other. As part of the terms set for postseason, all games starting with the division series would be played at neutral sites. The Dodgers and Padres played at Globe Life Field, while the Braves and Marlins played at Minute Maid Park. The higher seed served as the "home team" (i.e., batted second each inning) for Games 1, 2, and 5, while the lower seed as the "home team" for Games 3 and 4, mirroring the 2–2–1 format typically used in the Division Series. ==Matchups==

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Diego Padres Atlanta Braves vs. Miami Marlins ==Los Angeles vs. San Diego==

This was the first postseason match-up between the Dodgers and Padres. The Dodgers won six of ten games against the Padres during the 60-game regular season. The Dodgers advanced to their fourth NLCS in five seasons. The Dodgers' Will Smith had five hits in the game, becoming the first catcher, the first player in Dodgers franchise history, and the ninth major league player ever to accomplish the feat in a postseason game. The Dodgers would go on to win the World Series a few weeks later, making them the first World Series winner to sweep the Division Series since the Wild Card Game/Round was introduced in 2012. Composite line score 2020 NLDS (3–0): Los Angeles Dodgers beat San Diego Padres ==Atlanta vs. Miami==

This was the second postseason match-up between the Braves and the Marlins. Their previous postseason meeting was in the 1997 National League Championship Series, which the Marlins won in six games. The Braves won the season series 6–4 in ten meetings during the 60–game regular season. Game 1 Ronald Acuña Jr. led off the Braves’ day with an opposite field home run (facing Sandy Alcántara), setting the tone for his club. The Marlins would take the lead in the third off of a Garrett Cooper double that plated two runs and a Brian Anderson single that scored Cooper. After a pair of runs in the third to draw within one run, the Braves would break the game open in the seventh against a fatigued Alcántara, Yimi García, and James Hoyt, via a Travis d'Arnaud three-run home run. The Braves’ six-run seventh also featured a two-run shot from Dansby Swanson. Things turned testy in the third when Acuña was hit by a 98-mph fastball. The showy All-Star outfielder held onto his bat and walked a few steps toward the mound before umpires and Braves coaches surrounded him and directed him away from Alcántara, who had started to walk toward him. After the game, Alcántara said about the incident: "If he’s ready to fight, I’m ready to fight." Game 2 Rookie Ian Anderson turned in a scoreless start, lasting 5 innings and striking out eight. The Braves bullpen did not allow a hit after that to secure the win. Just as in Game 1, Travis d'Arnaud and Dansby Swanson both homered. Both were solo shots and the only runs in the game. The Braves became the third team in MLB history to toss shutouts in three of their first four games to begin a postseason. The other two teams were the 1905 New York Giants and 1966 Baltimore Orioles. Composite line score 2020 NLDS (3–0): Atlanta Braves beat Miami Marlins ==See also==