By Howard Fendrich
The Associated Press

NEW YORK - The New York Yankees will open the playoffs in an unfamiliar setting: daytime.

Fox Sports decided to open its coverage of baseball's postseason with Sammy Sosa's Chicago Cubs vs. the Atlanta Braves. That matchup got the prime time slot Tuesday over the 26-time champion Yankees against the Minnesota Twins and Barry Bonds' San Francisco Giants against the Florida Marlins.

"Our philosophy since 1996 has been to take the Yankees at night for the first game," Fox Sports VP Dan Bell said Sunday, "but this time, Cubs-Braves is the most attractive matchup."

Game 1 of the best-of-five National League division series between Chicago and Atlanta begins at 8:18 p.m. Twins-Yankees is at 1:06 p.m. on ESPN, and Marlins-Giants at 4:06 p.m. on ESPN.

"Over the last month, if you listen to talk radio and the voice of the fan, the excitement this year is about 'Is this the year for the Cubs?"' Fox Sports president Ed Goren said.

"Had we taken the Yankees and Minnesota as our opening game, a lot of people would have suggested, 'There they go again with that East Coast bias. The networks can't see beyond the Hudson River."'

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire didn't mind getting Game 1 at Yankee Stadium out of the way a few hours earlier.

"It takes away some of that game-day anxiety," Gardenhire said. "You don't have all day to sit around and think about it."

Prime-time games generally have the largest TV audiences, and therefore their ads can be sold for higher prices. Because the Yankees have a significant national following and are based in the country's largest TV market, they usually are put in prime time.

Chicago, in the playoffs for the first time since 1998, is in market No. 3. Atlanta is ranked No. 9, while Minneapolis is 14th.

Plus, the Cubs (on WGN) and Braves (on TBS) get national cable coverage.

"The Cubs and Braves both have national followings. So do the Yankees," Bell said.

The other first-round playoff series, with the Boston Red Sox against the Oakland Athletics, starts Wednesday at 10:06 p.m. on ESPN.

Game 2 of Twins-Yankees will be on Fox at 8:18 p.m. Thursday.

"It's good business to let America see a great National League matchup Tuesday, knowing we can come back on Thursday with a great American League matchup," Goren said. "It's a jump ball. There are great story lines in this postseason."

Fox has a six-year, $2.5 billion deal with major league baseball.