MLB postseason schedule: Dates, times and how to watch every playoff game

The MLB postseason is upon us! A dozen teams, filtered through four Wild Card series, all hoping to take home the ultimate prize. The two-time reigning champions, the Los Angeles Dodgers, are prohibitive favorites, but baseball is endlessly unpredictable. Anything can happen when the lights are bright and pressure mounts.

Here's how you can watch each and every postseason game over the next month and change.

Full MLB Wild Card Round schedule and where to watch

Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees

All Wild Card games will be streamed on Peacock, with the main TV broadcasts split between NBC and NBCSN. The Yankees and Red Sox, naturally, command the primetime 8 p.m. ET slot. These teams hate each other and there's more than a century of bad blood between them. Factor in market size and the amount of marquee talent on each roster, and you can bet folks will tune into these ballgames.

Chicago White Sox at Houston Astros

The White Sox and Astros are two explosive offensive teams on diverging timelines; Houston reaching the tail end of its competitive window, while the South Siders are a young group just breaking through. The games will be broadcast on NBCSN, which is available on Xfinity, Fubo TV and YouTube TV. The games can also be streamed on Peacock, like all Wild Card games.

Chicago Cubs at San Diego Padres

Cubs vs. Padres rounds out the evening slate as the only series taking place in the Pacific time zone. These will be night games on the East Coast, with local Cubs fans forced to stay up for a 9 p.m. CT first pitch. This is a rematch of last year's Wild Card series, only Chicago was at home in 2025. San Diego is the hottest team in the National League besides Milwaukee, so momentum certainly favors the Padres. Whether the matchup does is another matter entirely.

Philadelphia Phillies at Atlanta Braves

There will be plenty of grumbling about MLB's scheduling for this series, with both teams playing at 2 p.m. local (and 11 a.m. PT) on workdays. There's a lot of history here, too, as the Phillies and Braves are division rivals who battled on and off all season. This is a potentially electric start to each day, but for the folks who can't watch at work, it's a bummer.

Full MLB Divisional Series schedule and where to watch

BOS/NYY at Tampa Bay Rays

Tampa Bay won their division and claimed the best record in the American League, which secures a first-round bye. Unfortunately, due to MLB's janky postseason format, it also secures a matchup with the winner of New York-Boston — the second- or third-best team in the AL, record-wise. The ALDS will feature more rest between games while the broadcast shifts to TBS, with streaming available on HBO Max.

CWS/HOU at Cleveland Guardians

Cleveland won the AL Central and clinched the No. 2 seed in the American League, despite boasting the fourth-best record. That means the savvy, blue-collar Guardians will wait until the ALDS, awaiting the winner of Houston-Chicago in the Wild Card round. Cleveland lost the season series to both teams, but the Guardians also needed several months to catch fire. Their pitching staff supplies a major advantage, although Cleveland's lineup is always a question mark come October.

CHC/SDP at Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee secured the best record in baseball and the No. 1 seed in the National League, again. Jacob Misiorowski and company will get a nice rest accordingly, with the winner of Chicago-San Diego coming to town for the NLDS. The Brewers and Cubs are bitter division rivals; the edge in that matchup has belonged to Milwaukee for a while now. The NLDS will be broadcast on Fox Sports or FS1, and unlike the ALDS, it will not be available on a major streaming service.

PHI/ATL at Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers are the No. 2 seed but the undeniable favorites to win the National League pennant and eventually the World Series. Los Angeles overcame injury turbulence during the regular season to secure a first-round bye, awaiting the winner of Philadelphia-Atlanta. Both are tough matchups for the Dodgers on paper; Philly has a shutdown rotation, while the Braves lineup has torched Dodgers pitching this season, with Atlanta winning the season series 5-1. Still, all signs point to L.A. beating either in a five-game series.

Full MLB Championship Series schedule and where to watch

ALCS

The highest-seeded ALDS victor will host the ALCS, with a chance to punch their ticket to a World Series. The ALCS will remain on TBS with streaming available on HBO Max. The Championship Series are formatted 2-3-2, meaning the advantaged team hosts Games 1-2 and Games 6-7, with the first to four emerging victorious.

NLCS

The NLCS will remain on Fox Sports and FS1, with the higher-seeded Divisional Series winner playing host. Times will be set once the matchup is set, no doubt depending on specific time zones for each home ballpark.

Full MLB World Series schedule and where to watch

The World Series will be broadcast on Fox Sports and Fox One, with the same 2-3-2 format as the Championship Series. That said, seeding goes out the window in the final round. The team with the better record will host, even if that means the No. 5 seed Cubs host the No. 2 seed Guardians (an improbable example, but you get the point). Game times will be finalized once the matchups are set, of course.

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