Why Dodgers-Phillies Game 4 playoff game started so early

Game 4 of the NLDS between the Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif., started unusually early on Thursday. The first pitch for the game was 3:08 pm PT, which is in the afternoon for the local crowd. That was early to ask fans to make it the stadium for.

Having the Dodgers host a playoff game at such an early time looked especially bizarre when you realize the Chicago Cubs were hosting the Milwaukee Brewers in Game 4 of their series at 9:08 pm ET. Why wasn’t the Cubs-Brewers game scheduled for earlier in the day, and why wasn’t the Dodgers-Phillies scheduled for later? The answer likely is attributed to two factors.

One, the Philadelphia Eagles had a night game against the New York Giants on “Thursday Night Football” with an 8:15 pm ET kickoff time. Turner Sports TV executives likely did not want to have Philadelphia sports fans split and figured they would get better ratings numbers with the Phillies and Eagles games not overlapping.

Two, in the case the Phillies were to win Game 4, a deciding fifth game would be scheduled for Saturday in Philadelphia. Having an earlier start time would ease the travel burden for the teams, which is the same rationale used when games get early start times on “getaway days.”

The starting time for Game 4 between the Dodgers and Phillies does not make sense on the surface, but it makes more sense looking at these other reasons.

Conversely, the Brewers and Cubs would also have to travel if the Cubs were to win Game 4. However, the trip from Chicago to Milwaukee is an easy 90-mile ride up the west coast of Lake Michigan.