The 2026 MLB postseason bracket is locked in, and the road to the World Series now runs through a full slate of Wild Card games, Division Series showdowns and, eventually, the final week of October.
The last two tickets were punched on the season’s final day. Houston beat the Athletics to grab the AL West title, while Philadelphia handled the Tampa Bay Rays to claim the final National League Wild Card spot. Both clubs needed a win and got one.
For the Astros, it’s another familiar trip into October. They have now won their division five times in the last six seasons, and this time they’ll open at Daikin Park against the Chicago White Sox in a best-of-three Wild Card Series. Philadelphia, meanwhile, is back in the postseason for a fifth straight year and will take on the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park.
The other first-round pairings are set as well: the New York Yankees against the Boston Red Sox, and the San Diego Padres against the Chicago Cubs.
Two clubs already knew they’d skip the opening round. The Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers earned automatic byes into the National League Division Series after finishing with the top two records in the league. In the American League, the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians got the same reward.
The Wild Card Series begins Tuesday, Sept. 29, with all four matchups spread across NBC, Peacock and NBCSN. The Phillies and Braves get the early start at 11 a.m.
PT, followed by White Sox-Astros at 2 p.m. PT and Red Sox-Yankees at 5 p.m.
PT. Cubs-Padres closes out the first day at 7 p.m.
PT.
If any of those series go the distance, Game 3 is set for Thursday, Oct. 1.
The Phillies-Braves and White Sox-Astros winners will move on to face the Dodgers and Guardians, respectively. The Cubs or Padres will meet the Brewers, and the Yankees or Red Sox will draw the Rays.
The Division Series begins Saturday, Oct. 3.
In the National League, the surviving Wild Card teams will face the Dodgers and Brewers, with FOX, FS1, FOX Deportes and FOX One carrying the games. In the American League, the White Sox or Astros will meet the Guardians, while the Red Sox or Yankees will face the Rays, with TBS, truTV and HBO Max airing those matchups.
The Championship Series follows quickly. The National League Championship Series opens Sunday, Oct. 11, and the American League Championship Series starts Monday, Oct.
- Both leagues’ title rounds run through possible Game 7s later that month.
Then comes the World Series, which starts Friday, Oct. 23 and stretches through a possible Game 7 on Saturday, Oct. 31. FOX, FOX Deportes and FOX One will carry the Fall Classic.
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Oklahoma City finished the job by beating Rochester in the Triple-A championship game, and the recognition did not stop with the manager. Several players from the club, including James Tibbs III, Christian Romero and Seth Halvorsen, earned PCL All-Star honors, giving the Dodgers another reminder that the talent flowing through the system is producing both wins and individual recognition at a high level. [Read more 🡒]
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The timing matters because the Dodgers are still working through a few moving parts before the bracket takes shape. Hyeseong Kim is under consideration as a potential pinch-running option, and the bullpen remains a point of attention after Blake Treinens season-ending injury, so every roster choice carries extra weight. De Paulas case is part performance, part timing, and part whether an injury exemption opens the door for one more young hitter to stick around when October arrives. [Read more 🡒]
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For Dodgers fans, the larger takeaway is that this is not just a farewell tour for a respected infielder, but the beginning of a transition the organization seems prepared for. The club has offered Rojas a player development role after retirement, while Dave Roberts has also pointed to his potential to manage in MLB someday, a sign that even as Rojas reflects on more time with his family, the Dodgers are already imagining him as part of their future in a different way. [Read more 🡒]