Updated Monday, August 31, 2026.
Twelve games on the Monday card and every one of them starts in the evening — the first pitch of the day is 6:05 p.m. ET. Six teams are off, including the Dodgers, Guardians and Cardinals.
Two games carry real weight: Milwaukee visits the Cubs in a meeting of the National League’s two best records, and Arizona hosts Philadelphia with the wild card standings in play.
| Time (ET) | Matchup | What’s at stake |
|---|---|---|
| 6:05 p.m. | Giants at Braves | Atlanta chasing the NL’s top seed |
| 6:40 p.m. | Mets at Rays | Tampa Bay protecting a 4.5-game AL East lead |
| 6:40 p.m. | Padres at Reds | San Diego is half a game out of the last NL wild card |
| 6:45 p.m. | Marlins at Nationals | Miami 3.5 back of a playoff spot |
| 6:45 p.m. | Mariners at Red Sox | Boston holds the second AL wild card |
| 7:40 p.m. | Brewers at Cubs | The NL’s two best records, eight games apart in the Central |
| 7:40 p.m. | Tigers at Twins | Two AL Central teams playing spoiler |
| 8:05 p.m. | Athletics at Rangers | Texas 2 back in the AL West and 2 out of a wild card |
| 8:10 p.m. | White Sox at Astros | Two division leaders, both barely above .500 |
| 8:40 p.m. | Orioles at Rockies | Baltimore 1 game out of the third AL wild card |
| 9:38 p.m. | Yankees at Angels | New York holds the top AL wild card |
| 9:40 p.m. | Phillies at Diamondbacks | WC1 visits WC3 — Arizona just took the last spot from San Diego |
Off today: Dodgers, Guardians, Blue Jays, Royals, Pirates and Cardinals. Games air on each club’s regional network and are available to out-of-market viewers on MLB.TV. Start times can shift for weather.
First pitch by time zone
| ET | CT | MT | AZ | PT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6:05 p.m. | 5:05 p.m. | 4:05 p.m. | 3:05 p.m. | 3:05 p.m. |
| 6:40 p.m. | 5:40 p.m. | 4:40 p.m. | 3:40 p.m. | 3:40 p.m. |
| 7:40 p.m. | 6:40 p.m. | 5:40 p.m. | 4:40 p.m. | 4:40 p.m. |
| 8:10 p.m. | 7:10 p.m. | 6:10 p.m. | 5:10 p.m. | 5:10 p.m. |
| 9:40 p.m. | 8:40 p.m. | 7:40 p.m. | 6:40 p.m. | 6:40 p.m. |
The Two Games That Matter Most
Brewers at Cubs, 7:40 p.m. Milwaukee owns the best record in baseball at 85-52 and Chicago is 77-60 — the two best marks in the National League, meeting with eight games between them in the Central. The Cubs also share the top NL wild card with Philadelphia, so this is less about catching Milwaukee than about seeding. The Brewers’ magic number is 18.
Phillies at Diamondbacks, 9:40 p.m. Arizona took the National League’s final wild card from San Diego on Sunday, ending weeks of a virtual tie, and now hosts one of the two clubs tied atop the wild card standings. The Diamondbacks lead the Padres by half a game with one fewer game remaining, so every result counts double this week.
Elsewhere on the Card
San Diego plays at Cincinnati at 6:40, and the Padres need results now that they have slipped out of the field. Baltimore is at Colorado sitting one game out of the third AL wild card. Texas hosts the Athletics two games back in both the AL West and the wild card race — the Rangers have the clearest dual path of anyone in the American League.
The White Sox at Astros game is a curiosity: two division leaders, one at 72-64 and the other at 69-68, neither of whom looked like a first-place team in April. For the full picture see our MLB standings, and official listings are at MLB.com.
The Bottom Line
Twelve games Monday, opening with the Giants at Atlanta at 6:05 p.m. ET and closing with Philadelphia at Arizona at 9:40. Brewers at Cubs is the marquee matchup, pairing the National League’s two best records. Six clubs are off, including the Dodgers and Guardians.