How to watch the Brewers vs. Diamondbacks in the MLB playoffs and why you should

How to watch the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Major League Baseball playoffs?

Hold on a second. Before we get to the answer, let’s just think about the question and what it means for a second.

What it means is this: the Diamondbacks are in the playoffs! For real!

Granted, they backed their way in, getting swept by the Houston Astros at home in their last three games to end the regular season, which isn’t exactly the momentum you want going into the postseason.

And yet! They’re in! And they're up 1-0 over the Milwaukee Brewers after a wildly entertaining start to their Wild Card series Tuesday.

Only a fool or a foolish optimist could have predicted such a thing before the season started. And maybe a liar, at this point, of the, “I knew it all along!” variety.

Sure you did, pal, sure you did.

Ben Campbell has 'no regrets': He parted ways with KNIX-FM in Phoenix after decades

Who will the Diamondbacks play in the Wild Card?

The Diamondbacks continue against the Milwaukee Brewers in a best-of-three series at American Family Field in Milwaukie. The first pitch for Game 2 is scheduled for 4:08 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 4 on ESPN2. Jon Sciambi and Doug Glanville will call the game, and before you complain that Arizona gets shunted to ESPN2, it’s worth noting that Glanville is scheduled to call his first World Series with ESPN Radio this season.

Also, Arizona hasn’t been to the playoffs since 2017, which somehow is already six years ago, after a similarly unlikely turnaround season, so it’s not like there is a rich recent history to attract viewers.

It’ll attract me, though. Does any team in baseball have a top of the lineup that’s more fun to watch than the Diamondbacks? Wait, don’t answer, all you Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers fans.

Still, Corbin Carroll — a lock for National League Rookie of the Year — Ketel Marte and Christian Walker are a lot of fun to watch. ESPN mikes up players for games. The network hasn’t confirmed who it will be for Game 1, but wouldn’t it be great if it was Carroll? Wouldn’t you love to know what goes through the head of a 23-year-old whose dreams are playing out bigger than anyone could imagine? Here’s hoping.

And if you, like me, have joined in the season-long chorus that Arizona’s bullpen is going to cost them, there’s this handy little tidbit from ESPN’s Jeff Passan: Diamondbacks relievers had the second-best ERA in baseball in September.

Greg Schulte is signing off: He's been the voice of the Arizona Diamondbacks since 1998

What channel is the Diamondbacks game on?

OK, I still don’t trust them. But it gives the whole thing a little air of prestige-TV drama.

This is, after all, in many respects a TV show, albeit one that hasn’t always been easy to find.

At the beginning of the season the Diamondbacks’ games were broadcast on Bally Sports Arizona, which was not available on some carriers, like YouTube TV. But when Diamond Sports Group, the parent company of Bally Sports, missed payments after declaring bankruptcy, Major League Baseball took over the broadcasts in July.

At least ESPN2 is easy to find.

I like watching baseball. I don’t obsess over it, like some — the season is 162 games. That’s too long to be that invested in anything. (And baseball fantasy leagues? We’re talking cult-like behavior. I’ve made that mistake more than once.)

But playoff baseball is different. That, I love. It’s like a low-key national sports holiday, especially the Wild Card rounds. Starting Tuesday there will be games on from noon till late in the evening, 8 p.m. or so Arizona time. It’s not quite the sports-TV circus that the NCAA men’s basketball tournament is, but it’s still a lot of fun.

There’s that word again. Fun. Even with its ups and downs — the Diamondbacks charged out of the gate, crashed for a while (immediately after I sang their praises as good TV, in fact) and fought their way back. And they’re still playing.

I don’t know about you, but that sounds like pretty swell TV to me.

How to watch the Arizona Diamondback-Milwaukee Brewers Wild Card playoff series

Game 2: 4 p.m. (Arizona time) Wednesday on ESPN2.

Game 3 (if necessary): 4 p.m. (Arizona time) Thursday on ESPN2.

Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. X, formerly known as Twitter: @goodyk.

Subscribe to azcentral.com today. What are you waiting for?

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What channel is the Diamondbacks game on? How to watch