MLB playoff schedule 2026: Full bracket, scores, times, TV channels to watch every postseason series
The 2026 MLB postseason will unwind across a month of action to determine a champion. Here's when and where to watch every game.
More than seven months after pitchers and catchers reported to spring training, it's time to determine which team will wear the MLB crown in 2026.
Twelve teams reached the postseason bracket, and any discussion about favorites has to start with the two-time defending champion Dodgers . Los Angeles wasn't necessarily dominant during the regular season and enters October with concerns about the health of the planet's best player, Shohei Ohtani , but it has proven unwise to bet against LA lately.
While the Dodgers are in the midst of a dynastic run, neither of the teams that owned the best records in their respective leagues during the regular season — the Brewers and Rays — has won a World Series. Victory would be particularly sweet for either of those fan bases, along with the other postseason entrant without a title, the Padres.
Who will survive the gauntlet to lift the Commissioner's Trophy at the end of October? Here's when and where to watch every game.
The 2026 MLB postseason will have a new look for the opening round, with NBC carrying every wild card game on its platforms: NBC, NBCSN and/or Peacock .
After that, the familiar rotation returns. This year's NL playoffs will air on Fox or FS1 while the AL will be on TBS, with the World Series set to air on Fox as it has every year since 2000.
Fans can stream every postseason game except Peacock exclusives with DIRECTV , which offers a free trial to new subscribers.
All games airing on NBC, NBCSN, Fox and FS1 can be streamed with fubo , which also offers a free trial.
Thursday's schedule will be based on how many Game 3s are necessary. If all four series go to a Game 3, the start times and channels will be the same as for Games 1 and 2.
NLDS Game 1: Dodgers vs. Braves/Phillies
ALDS Game 1: Guardians vs. Astros/White Sox
NLDS Game 2: Dodgers vs. Braves/Phillies
ALDS Game 2: Guardians vs. Astros/White Sox
NLDS Game 3: Braves/Phillies vs. Dodgers
NLDS Game 4*: Braves/Phillies vs. Dodgers
ALDS Game 3: Astros/White Sox vs. Guardians
ALDS Game 4*: Astros/White Sox vs. Guardians
NLDS Game 5*: Dodgers vs. Braves/Phillies
ALDS Game 5*: Guardians vs. Astros/White Sox
League Championship Series schedule, scores
Gathered from external sources. Rights to this text belong to whoever originally published it.