THE MLB PLAYOFFS OPEN TODAY AND THE WHITE SOX ARE IN THEM
The 2026 MLB postseason began Tuesday, September 29, 2026 with four Wild Card Series games. The Philadelphia Phillies visit the Atlanta Braves, the Chicago White Sox visit the Houston Astros, the Boston Red Sox visit the New York Yankees, and the Chicago Cubs visit the San Diego Padres. Each series is best of three and played entirely at the higher seed. The Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers hold the top two National League seeds and the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians hold the top two American League seeds, with all four receiving first round byes. The White Sox reached the postseason as the first team ever to do so after three consecutive 100 loss seasons, having last appeared in 2021 and last won a series in 2005.
Key Points
- Four Wild Card series open today, September 29, with Philadelphia at Atlanta, the White Sox at Houston, Boston at the Yankees and the Cubs at San Diego, all best of three and all at the higher seed.
- The Chicago White Sox became the first team ever to reach the postseason following three consecutive 100 loss seasons, and have not won a playoff series since their 2005 title.
- Milwaukee and the Dodgers hold the top two National League seeds and Tampa Bay and Cleveland hold the top two American League seeds, all four on first round byes.
- Houston opens with a bullpen game because Hunter Brown would be pitching on short rest, leaving two strong offenses and two thin pitching staffs to decide the series.
Playoff baseball starts this afternoon and does not stop until late tonight. Four Wild Card series open on the same day, stacked from two in the afternoon through ten at night, and by Thursday half of the teams in them will be finished for the year.
Today's Four Games
Philadelphia at Atlanta gets the 2 p.m. Eastern slot. The White Sox are at Houston at 5. Boston is at the Yankees at 8. The Cubs are at San Diego at 10. Every game is on NBC, Peacock or both.
Each of these is a best of three, and every game of it is played at the higher seed's park. There is no travel and no reward for the road team beyond surviving. Game 2s are Wednesday, and any Game 3 follows after that.
The White Sox Are the Reason to Pay Attention
Chicago lost at least 100 games in three straight seasons. No team that has done that had ever come back to make the postseason. The White Sox just did, and they arrive as the sixth seed in the American League with the shortest possible path to being eliminated.
Their last playoff appearance was 2021. Their last playoff series win was 2005, which was also the last time they won the World Series. Houston has home field, the better lineup and the shorter odds, but the Astros open with a bullpen game because Hunter Brown would be working on short rest. Two good offenses and two shaky pitching staffs usually produce exactly the kind of series a sixth seed wants.
Yankees and Red Sox, in a Best of Three
The oldest rivalry in the sport drew the shortest series format available. Boston is the fifth seed, New York the fourth, and the loser is out after at most three games in the Bronx. There is no version of this that is not worth watching, and no version where the loser's winter is anything other than miserable.
Braves and Phillies, Again
Atlanta won the National League East and drew the team that spent September hanging on to the last wild card. Philadelphia got in as the sixth seed and now opens on the road against a division rival that has seen every pitcher it will face.
The Cubs Went West
Chicago's other team drew San Diego, and the Cubs bring the most fun individual season in the field. Their center fielder joined the 40 and 40 club last week, the seventh player in the history of the sport to do it. The Padres have home field as the fourth seed, but the Cubs are the kind of team that looks dangerous in a format short enough to be decided by two good nights.
Who Is Already Waiting
Four teams have the week off. Milwaukee holds the top seed in the National League after winning the Central, with the Dodgers second out of the West. Tampa Bay took the American League East and the top seed there, with Cleveland second.
The reward for a bye is five days of rest and the loss of any rhythm a team had. The reward for the teams playing today is momentum and a depleted pitching staff. Baseball has never fully settled which of those matters more, which is part of why this round produces upsets.
The winner of Houston and the White Sox draws Tampa Bay. That is the bracket line worth circling, because a team that lost 100 games three years running is two wins from playing the best team in its league.
Tampa Bay being that team is its own small story. The Rays won the American League East outright and finished with the best record in the league, in a division that also produced both of tonight's Yankees and Red Sox combatants. They did it with the smallest budget of the three, which is the part that will get repeated all October.
Milwaukee sits in the same spot in the National League, top seed out of the Central, waiting on whoever survives Atlanta and Philadelphia. The Dodgers, second in the league after taking the West, get the Cubs or the Padres. Neither bye team will know its opponent until Thursday at the earliest.
What to Watch For
Short series are decided by bullpens and by one bad inning. Every team in this round knows it, which is why three of the four managers will pull a starter earlier than they want to, and one of them will wait a batter too long and spend the winter being asked about it.
First pitch in Atlanta is at two. By eleven tonight, four teams will be one loss from the end of their season.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do the 2026 MLB playoffs start?
The Wild Card round opens Tuesday, September 29, 2026, with four games. Game 2s follow on September 30 and any Game 3s are played after that.
What are the 2026 MLB Wild Card matchups?
In the American League, the White Sox visit the Astros and the Red Sox visit the Yankees. In the National League, the Phillies visit the Braves and the Cubs visit the Padres.
Which MLB teams have first round byes in 2026?
The Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League, and the Tampa Bay Rays and Cleveland Guardians in the American League.
Why are the White Sox in the playoffs a big deal?
Chicago is the first team ever to reach the postseason after three straight 100 loss seasons. Their last playoff appearance was 2021 and their last series win came in 2005, the year they won the World Series.
How does the MLB Wild Card round work?
Each series is best of three and every game is played at the higher seed's ballpark. The winners advance to the Division Series against the teams on byes.
Topics: mlb, houston-astros, new-york-yankees, chicago-cubs, mlb-playoffs, chicago-white-sox, wild-card