The 2026 Major League Baseball regular season officially concluded on Sunday, setting the stage for an intense postseason race culminating in the World Series. With the final 14 games played across the league—following the cancellation of a matchup between the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees—the final playoff seedings are locked in. The Los Angeles Dodgers enter the post-season bracket with their sights set on securing a third championship title.
American League Wild Card Races Settled on the Final Day
The regular season went down to the wire on Sunday, featuring high-stakes battles in both leagues to determine the final postseason participants. In the American League, the Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers finished the 162-game schedule locked in a dead heat for the American League West division title, knowing that whoever fell short would miss the playoffs entirely. The tiebreaker ultimately favored Houston. That loss sealed the division for the Astros, who capitalized on the opening by routing the Oakland Athletics in their final regular-season contest.
With the division sorted, the American League wild card matchups and seedings are finalized. The Houston Astros claim the No. 3 seed, followed by the New York Yankees at No. 4, the Boston Red Sox at No. 5, and the Chicago White Sox rounding out the field as the No. 6 seed.
National League Drama Ends with Philadelphia Claiming the Final Spot
In the National League, the dramatic conclusion centered on the final wild card berth. The Philadelphia Phillies limped toward the finish line, sliding into the postseason anxiety after enduring a four-game losing streak. Meanwhile, the Arizona Diamondbacks missed a crucial opportunity on Saturday. The Phillies stopped their bleeding on Sunday by defeating the Tampa Bay Rays at home, securing the No. 6 seed in the National League. The Diamondbacks failed to recover, dropping their regular-season finale on the road against the San Diego Padres to bow out of the race.
The National League postseason bracket features the Atlanta Braves taking the No. 3 seed, the San Diego Padres at No. 4, the Chicago Cubs at No. 5, and the Philadelphia Phillies securing the No. 6 spot.
Wild Card Series Matchups and Times
The opening round of the MLB postseason pairs the third-seeded teams against the sixth-seeded clubs, while the fourth seeds face the fifth seeds. These wild card showdowns are structured as best-of-three series, with every game hosted at the home ballpark of the higher-seeded team.
American League Wild Card Series
- New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox
- Game 1: Tuesday, Sept. 29 — 8 p.m. Miami / 5 p.m. Los Angeles / 6 p.m. Mexico City
- Game 2: Wednesday, Sept. 30 — 8 p.m. Miami / 5 p.m. Los Angeles / 6 p.m. Mexico City
- Game 3 (If necessary): Thursday, Oct. 1
- Houston Astros vs. Chicago White Sox
- Game 1: Tuesday, Sept. 29 — 5 p.m. Miami / 2 p.m. Los Angeles / 3 p.m. Mexico City
- Game 2: Wednesday, Sept. 30 — 5 p.m. Miami / 2 p.m. Los Angeles / 3 p.m. Mexico City
- Game 3 (If necessary): Thursday, Oct. 1
National League Wild Card Series
- San Diego Padres vs. Chicago Cubs
- Game 1: Tuesday, Sept. 29 — 10 p.m. Miami / 7 p.m. Los Angeles / 8 p.m. Mexico City
- Game 2: Wednesday, Sept. 30 — 10 p.m. Miami / 7 p.m. Los Angeles / 8 p.m. Mexico City
- Game 3 (If necessary): Thursday, Oct. 1
- Atlanta Braves vs. Philadelphia Phillies
- Game 1: Tuesday, Sept. 29 — 2 p.m. Miami / 11 a.m. Los Angeles / 12 p.m. Mexico City
- Game 2: Wednesday, Sept. 30 — 2 p.m. Miami / 11 a.m. Los Angeles / 12 p.m. Mexico City
- Game 3 (If necessary): Thursday, Oct. 1
Road to the 2026 World Series
The survivors of the wild card round will advance to the division series, where the top two overall seeds in each league—who earned first-round byes—await their opponents. The postseason schedule maps out a rigorous path toward the Fall Classic:
- Divisional Round: Oct. 3–10 in the American League; Oct. 3–9 in the National League.
- Championship Series: Oct. 12–20 in the American League; Oct. 11–19 in the National League.
- World Series: Oct. 23–31.
