NEW YORK -- The Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta Braves are getting high ratings on cable, too.
Game 2 of the NL division series between the two teams on ESPN Wednesday night earned a 6.3 rating, the highest ever for a division series game on cable.
It was also ESPN's highest-rated non-NFL program this year, and the third most-watched baseball game ever on the network. Only the 1998 game when St. Louis' Mark McGwire tied Roger Maris with his 61st home run and the one-game playoff between the Cubs and the San Francisco Giants on Sept. 28, 1998, had more viewers.
An average of almost 5.5 million homes watched the Braves beat the Cubs 5-3 and even the best-of-five series at a game each.
Game 1 of the series was televised by Fox Sports. It got a 7.5 national rating, a 15 percent increase over last year and the highest for a playoff opener since 1999.
ESPN also got high ratings for its coverage of Game 1 between the Oakland Athletics and the Boston Red Sox, which began at 10 p.m. EDT.
The game, which Oakland won 5-4 in 12 innings, earned a 4.0 rating and was viewed in an average of almost 3.6 million homes. It was the third most-watched division series game ever on cable.
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