MLB's expanded playoffs open Tuesday with four Wild Card Series

Major League Baseball's postseason begins in earnest Tuesday with four best-of-three Wild Card Series across both leagues, the first true elimination games of the 2026 playoffs and the start of a compressed stretch that will run through the World Series in late October.

In the American League, the No. 3 seed Houston Astros host the No. 6 seed Chicago White Sox at Daikin Park, with first pitch set for 5 p.m. ET. The other AL series pits the No. 4 seed New York Yankees against the No. 5 seed Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium, with Game 1 scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock. Yankees right-hander Cam Schlittler, an AL Cy Young Award contender after finishing 14-6 with a league-leading 1.95 ERA, is set to start opposite Boston's Payton Tolle, who was tapped for the Game 1 assignment over the weekend.

National League openers

In the National League, the No. 3 seed Atlanta Braves host the No. 6 seed Philadelphia Phillies, with first pitch at 2 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock, while the No. 4 seed San Diego Padres host the No. 5 seed Chicago Cubs later Tuesday night. San Diego is sending ace Michael King to the mound, and Chicago has turned to left-hander Matthew Boyd for a matchup set for 10 p.m. ET. The Rays, Guardians, Brewers and Dodgers all finished with the best records in their respective leagues and earned first-round byes, meaning none of them will play until the Division Series begins later this week against the surviving Wild Card winners.

What happens next

Each Wild Card Series is a best-of-three format, with the higher seed hosting every game; a deciding Game 3, if necessary, would be played Wednesday. Winners advance directly into the Division Series against the bye teams later in the week.