Major League playoff pairings set

NEW YORK, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- The Major League Baseball playoffs begin this week with four teams in each league vying for a chance to play in the World Series.

The American League Division Series open Wednesday with the Texas Rangers playing the Rays at Tampa Bay and the New York Yankees playing the Twins at Minnesota.

The National League Division Series starts Wednesday with the Cincinnati Reds versus the Phillies at Philadelphia and the the Atlanta Braces heading for San Francisco and a series against the Giants that opens Thursday.

The division series are best-of-five, with the winners moving to the best-of-seven league championship series.

All eight playoff teams won at least 90 games. Philadelphia, which ended up with the best record in baseball at 97-65, would have the home-field advantage for the NLCS if the Phillies advance. The best record in the American League belonged to Tampa Bay (96-66).

The Yankees were second in the American League with 95 wins, followed by the Twins (94) and Texas (90). San Francisco ended the regular season with 92 wins while Atlanta and Cincinnati each had 91.

The league championship series are scheduled for Oct. 15-24. The World Series begins Oct. 27 in the home ballpark of the National League champion. If the series goes the full seven games -- and there haven't been delays and postponements to push the date back -- Game 7 is scheduled for Nov. 4