| Round | Dates | Format | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Card Series (4) | Tue, Sept. 29 to Thu, Oct. 1 | Best of three, all games at the higher seed | NBC, Peacock, NBC Sports Network |
| Division Series (4) | Sat, Oct. 3 to Sat, Oct. 10 | Best of five | NLDS: FOX, FS1; ALDS: TBS, truTV, HBO Max |
| NL Championship Series | Sun, Oct. 11 to Mon, Oct. 19 | Best of seven | FOX, FS1 |
| AL Championship Series | Mon, Oct. 12 to Tue, Oct. 20 | Best of seven | TBS, truTV, HBO Max |
| World Series | Fri, Oct. 23 to Sat, Oct. 31 | Best of seven | FOX, Fox One |
The regular season ends Sunday, September 27, and the playoffs open two days later. There is no November baseball this year: a World Series Game 7 falls on Halloween, and the earliest the season could end is a sweep on Tuesday, October 27. Game 1 of the World Series is at the home of the pennant winner with the better regular season record.
Every Postseason Game
The 2026 postseason field is still being decided. Series and games appear here automatically as matchups are set.
See every series at a glance on the live MLB playoff bracket.
Round by Round
Wild Card Series
Games 1 and 2 are Tuesday and Wednesday, September 29 and 30, with Game 3 on Thursday, October 1 if needed. All three games are played at the home of the higher seed. NBC carries the Wild Card round for the first time since the 2000 ALCS, with Peacock streaming every NBC game and up to six exclusive games of its own.
Division Series
Both leagues open Saturday, October 3. The NLDS runs on consecutive days in the same city with off days after Games 2 and 4, and a potential Game 5 on Friday, October 9. The ALDS has an extra off day between Games 1 and 2 this year and runs through a potential Game 5 on Saturday, October 10. FOX or FS1 has the National League; TNT Sports carries the American League on TBS, truTV and HBO Max.
League Championship Series
The NLCS starts Sunday, October 11 on FOX or FS1 with a possible Game 7 on Monday, October 19. The ALCS starts Monday, October 12 on TBS, truTV and HBO Max with a possible Game 7 on Tuesday, October 20.
World Series
Game 1 is Friday, October 23 on FOX, the network’s 29th World Series. Off days are Sunday, October 25 and, if Game 6 is needed, Thursday, October 29. Game 7 would be Saturday, October 31.
How the Bracket Works
Twelve teams qualify, six per league: three division winners and three wild cards. The two division winners with the best records in each league are the No. 1 and 2 seeds and skip the Wild Card round. The third division winner is the No. 3 seed and hosts the No. 6 seed; the No. 4 seed hosts the No. 5 seed. In the Division Series the No. 1 seed faces the winner of the 4 versus 5 series and the No. 2 seed faces the winner of 3 versus 6. There is no reseeding. Ties for playoff spots and seeds are broken by head to head record, then intradivision record, then interdivision record; there are no tiebreaker games.
How to Stream
Peacock streams the Wild Card round. FOX and FS1 games stream on Fox One and the Fox Sports app; TBS and truTV games stream on HBO Max. MLB.TV subscribers with an authenticated pay TV login can watch postseason games on FOX, FS1 and the TNT networks inside MLB.TV. ESPN Radio has every game nationally, and Spanish language coverage is on Fox Deportes, Universo and Univision.