2026 MLB Playoffs Begin Tuesday: Full Bracket and Schedule — SkimNews
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- The 2026 MLB postseason begins Tuesday, Sept. 29 with four best-of-three Wild Card Series Game 1s: Phillies at Braves, White Sox at Astros, Red Sox at Yankees, and Cubs at Padres.
- The Tampa Bay Rays earned the AL's No. 1 seed and a bye, while the Cleveland Guardians took the No. 2 seed despite an 85-77 record that ranks 10th out of the 12 playoff teams.
- The Milwaukee Brewers (103 wins) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (100 wins) both surpassed 100 regular-season wins to claim NL byes and will host NLDS Game 1s on Saturday, Oct. 3.
- Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong is identified as the NL MVP frontrunner, with Chicago facing the surging Padres in the late-night Wild Card matchup.
- The Yankees-Red Sox winner will face the Rays in the ALDS, with the loser going home, as the best-of-three format leaves no margin for the Game 1 losers.
- The World Series begins Friday, Oct. 23 on Fox, with a potential Game 7 falling on Halloween (Oct. 31).
Why it matters: The AL bracket's top half looks unusually weak: the No. 2 seed Guardians won just 85 games — fewer than three other playoff teams — making them a vulnerable bye recipient. Meanwhile, the Brewers and Dodgers each cleared 100 wins, giving the NL a far stronger top-end than the AL's seedings suggest entering October.
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