2026 MLB playoff schedule: Dates set for full postseason bracket, including World Series start — SkimNews
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- MLB scheduled the 2026 postseason to begin Tuesday, Sept. 29, with four best-of-three Wild Card Series, all concluding no later than Thursday, Oct. 1
- The Division Series will start Saturday, Oct. 3, followed by the League Championship Series beginning no earlier than Sunday, Oct. 11
- The 2026 World Series is set to open Friday, Oct. 23, with a potential Game 7 falling on Saturday, Oct. 31 — Halloween
- MLB's regular season will wrap up Sunday, Sept. 27, two days before the Wild Card Series begin
- The expanded postseason format eliminates tiebreaker games entirely, with all ties resolved mathematically using head-to-head record as the first tiebreaker
Why it matters: The locked-in calendar gives teams, broadcasters, and fans a concrete window into October — just 26 days from the regular-season finale (Sept. 27) to a possible Game 7 on Halloween (Oct. 31). The no-tiebreaker rule under the expanded format means clinching scenarios resolve purely on the math, adding urgency to the final week of the regular season.
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