Baseball playoffs 2011 begin with AL divisional games Friday

Baseball playoffs: The Rays and Rangers get the 2011 MLB postseason under way Friday afternoon in Texas, followed by the Yankees and Tigers. The National League playoffs start on Saturday.

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LM Otero/AP
Ground keepers DT Crymes, top, and Shawn Darwin paint AL division series logo an the field at the baseball park in Arlington, Texas, Thursday, Sept. 29. The Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers are slated to play Game 1 on Friday.

Friday is the start of Major League Baseball's 'second season' - the playoffs.

Destiny's darlings, the Tampa Bay Rays, whose September surge pushed them into the postseason, take on the defending American League champion Texas Rangers Friday afternoon in Arlington, Texas.

A pair of left-handers will start in Game 1 for Rays and Rangers. Tampa Bay rookie pitcher Matt Moore will start for the Rays, while C.J. Wilson gets the ball for Texas. Game time is scheduled for 5:07 p.m. ET.

Friday night, the New York Yankees play host to the Detroit Tigers and their American League Cy Young Award candidate, Justin Verlander.

The Tiger right-hander had the best pitching record in the major leagues this season, 24 wins versus five losses. New York counters with the towering C.C. Sabathia, who was 19-8 this year. Game 1 of the Yankees-Tigers series is scheduled to start at 8:37 p.m. ET.

Both games will be televised by TBS.

On Saturday, the National League gets started in the afternoon while the AL continues at night.

The Milwaukee Brewers, who haven't been in the playoffs since 2008, take on the Arizona Diamondbacks in Wisconsin.

The Brewers won the NL Central this year, the club's first division title since capturing the American League East division back in 1982. Yovani Gallardo starts for Milwaukee and former Yankee Ian Kennedy, who was a terrific 21-4 in 2011, gets the ball for Arizona. Game time Saturday is 2:07 p.m. ET.

The Philadelphia Phillies, who had the best record in the majors, host the wildcard winning St. Louis Cardinals, who clinched their playoff berth when the Atlanta Braves collapsed at the end of the regular season.

Roy Halladay starts for the Phillies while Kyle Lohse will be on the mound for the Cards. St. Louis took the regular season series between these two teams, six games to three. Game 1 of this series begins at 5:07 p.m. ET Saturday.

Both NL games Saturday will be televised on TBS.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this article.

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