Play Ball! The MLB Playoffs Are Here — and Today’s Lineup Is Packed!
Quick Summary
Baseball’s biggest stage is officially here! The 2026 MLB playoffs begin today, Tuesday, September 29. Four exciting best-of-three Wild Card Series games are on the schedule. The winner of each series moves on. The loser goes home.
What Happened?
The regular season wrapped up on Sunday. Now 12 teams are fighting for a chance to reach the World Series. It all starts this week with the Wild Card round.
A Wild Card team is one that made the playoffs even without winning its division. Think of it like finishing second in your class but still getting to compete in the science fair championship. These teams still have a chance!
Each Wild Card series is best-of-three. That means the first team to win two games advances to the next round, called the Division Series.
Here are today’s four matchups:
In the American League, the Boston Red Sox travel to face the New York Yankees. This is one of baseball’s greatest rivalries — like two schools that have been competing against each other for over 100 years. Also in the American League, the Chicago White Sox visit the Houston Astros.
In the National League, the Philadelphia Phillies face the Atlanta Braves. And in a late-night West Coast game, the Chicago Cubs play the San Diego Padres.
One of the most amazing comeback stories belongs to the Red Sox. Back in late June, Boston was 15 and a half games behind in their division. That is a huge gap — like being 30 points behind in a basketball game with five minutes left. But they kept fighting and eventually made the playoffs!
The Atlanta Braves have ace pitcher Chris Sale on their mound, and their lineup includes star players Ronald Acuña Jr. and Matt Olson. The Houston Astros qualified for the postseason even though their record was exactly 81 wins and 81 losses. That means they won exactly as many games as they lost, yet they still won their division!
The road from here leads to the Division Series (October 3–10), then the League Championship Series (October 11–20), and finally the World Series. Game 7, if it is needed, would be played on Halloween — October 31.
Why Does It Matter?
The MLB playoffs are one of the most exciting events in all of American sports. Millions of fans around the world watch to see which team will be crowned World Series champion. The short three-game format means every single at-bat matters. One big hit or one great pitch can end a team’s entire season.
Big Words
- Playoffs — a special set of games at the end of the season where the best teams compete to become champion
- Wild Card — a spot in the playoffs given to a team that had a great record but did not win its division
- Best-of-three series — a matchup where the first team to win two games wins the whole series
- Division — a group of teams in the same region that compete against each other during the regular season
- Rivalry — a long history of competition between two teams, often full of memorable games and strong feelings on both sides
Fun Fact
The Boston Red Sox once went 86 years without winning a World Series. Fans called it the Curse of the Bambino. They finally broke it in 2004 and have been a competitive team ever since!
Think About It
If you were a baseball manager, what would be the most important thing you would tell your players before the very first playoff game of their lives?
Sources
- MLB.com — ‘2026 MLB Playoff and World Series schedule’ (Sep 2026)
- AP / ClickOnDetroit — ‘MLB’s playoffs start Tuesday. Here’s what to know about the Wild Card Series’ (Sep 28, 2026)
- CBS Sports — ‘2026 MLB playoff bracket: Schedule, scores with full postseason field set’ (Sep 2026)
- Yahoo Sports — ‘2026 MLB wild-card series: How to watch, full baseball playoffs schedule’ (Sep 2026)