Dodgers Dugout: The moment we have all been waiting for is almost here

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, and I am not superstitious or anything, but when the Dodgers take a lead in Game 1, I expect everyone out there to remain in the same seat and not move.

The schedule

Let’s get the important thing out of the way. When are the Dodgers playing? Here’s the NLDS playoff schedule. The Dodgers will play the winner of Wednesday’s playoff game between Colorado and Arizona. The Colorado-Arizona game will be at 5 p.m. PDT on TBS.

Game 1

Friday at Dodgers, 7:30 p.m. PDT, TBS

Game 2

Saturday at Dodgers, 6 p.m. PDT, TBS

Game 3

Oct. 9, at Arizona or Colorado, TBA, TBS

Game 4 (if necessary)

Oct. 10 at Arizona or Colorado, TBA, TBS

Game 5 (if necessary)

Oct. 12 at Dodgers, TBA, TBS

Random thoughts

We won’t know who the Dodgers will play until Wednesday night, so let’s leave the serious analysis for Friday’s newsletter. Until then:

-- Justin Turner finished the season hitting .322, the highest Dodgers batting average among qualifiers since Matt Kemp hit .324 in 2011. Turner becomes only the 15th L.A. Dodger to hit .320 or above.

-- Cody Bellinger joins Gary Sheffield (twice), Adrian Beltre, Matt Kemp, Mike Piazza and Shawn Green as the only L.A. Dodgers to hit at least .260, have an OB% of at least .350 and a SLG% of at least .580.

-- Corey Seager hit. 292 with a double, two homers and six RBIs in his last seven games, so his slump appears over.

-- Clayton Kershaw led the NL in wins, ERA and strikeout-to-walk ratio. He’s pretty good.

OK, enough looking back. Take the next couple of days to appreciate the season, then let’s all meet back here on Friday to look forward to an NLDS against either the Diamondbacks or Rockies.

Shameless plug dept.

--On Oct. 11 at 7 p.m., I will be moderating a discussion with former Dodgers GM Ned Colletti at Chevalier’s Books at 126 N. Larchmont Blvd. in Los Angeles. Colletti will also be signing copies of his book. So if you’ve ever wanted to boo me in person, please stop by. For more information, click here.

-- Tuesday night, head to Cal State Northridge for an evening with former Dodgers announcer Ross Porter. The event will take Ross through over an hour of reminisces about his career with the Dodgers. Ross will answer pre-submitted questions from guests who purchased tickets. It’s like a live “Ask Ross Porter.” For more information, click here.

-- Dodgers Kyle Farmer and Alex Wood have launched an effort to support former Georgia teammate Chance Veazey, who sustained a paralyzing spinal cord injury while playing for the Bulldogs. Farmer and Wood helped design a T-shirt that will be sold until Oct. 9 to help raise money for the hospital (Shepherd Center) that has provided much of the care for Veazey since his accident.

To see the shirt and for more information, click here.

And finally

Dodgers figure to go with Kershaw, Hill and Darvish, in that order, in the playoffs. Read all about it here.

Dodgers’ success in postseason will show how well Andrew Friedman’s process is working. Read all about it here.

Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me and follow me on Twitter:@latimeshouston

Houston.mitchell@latimes.com

Twitter: @latimeshouston