When do the MLB playoffs start in 2024? Date, TV schedule & updated AL, NL brackets for postseason

The air is turning crispy, the leaves are falling and sports fans know that means the most important time of the baseball calendar is here. 

The 2024 MLB playoff race is coming down to the wire. With less than a week left in the season, there are a number of spots still up for grabs in October, including all three wild-card teams in each conference. 

Soon, the season-long chase for a World Series will reach the make-it-or-break-it point. There are plenty of storylines to follow along as October baseball hits. Is it finally the year the Phillies get over the hump? Can the Yankees finally emerge from the AL? Will the Diamondbacks avenge their 2023 loss to the Rangers? 

Looking forward to the start of the playoffs? Here's everything you need to know about the MLB playoffs with the season wrapped up.

MORE: Watch select MLB games live on Fubo (free trial)

When do the MLB playoffs start in 2024?

The MLB playoffs will begin on Oct. 1, with several wild card games. If the World Series goes a full seven games, it can run until Nov. 2.

• Wild Card Series: Oct. 1-3
• Division Series: Oct. 5-12
• Championship Series: Oct. 13-22
• World Series: Oct. 25-Nov. 2

MORE: Oakland A's owner John Fisher ripped for letter to fans

MLB playoff bracket

This is how the 2024 playoff field will shape up if the season ended on Sept. 24.

The division winners receive the top three seeds, followed by the three wild-card teams. The top two division winners earn byes to the division series.

American League

1. Yankees (East champion)
2. Guardians (Central champion)
3. Astros (West champion)
4. Orioles (Wild card 1)
5. Tigers (Wild card 2)
6. Royals (Wild card 3)

National League

1. Dodgers (West champion)
2. Phillies (East champion)
3. Brewers (Central champion)
4. Padres (Wild card 1)
5. Mets (Wild card 2)
6. Diamondbacks (Wild card 3)

AL Wild Card Series (Best of 3)

• No. 3 Astros vs. No. 6 Royals in Houston
• No. 4 Orioles vs. No. 5 Tigers in Baltimore

NL Wild Card Series (Best of 3)

• No. 3 Brewers vs. No. 6 Diamondbacks in Milwaukee
• No. 4 Padres vs. No. 5 Mets in San Diego

AL Division Series (Best of 5)

• No. 1 Yankees vs. No. 4 Orioles vs. No. 5 Tigers
• No. 2 Guardians vs. No. 3 Astros or No. 6 Royals

NL Division Series (Best of 5)

• No. 1 Dodgers vs. No. 4 Padres or No. 5 Mets
• No. 2 Phillies vs. No. 3 Brewers or No. 6 Diamondbacks

MORE: Who has the most losses in MLB history?

MLB playoff schedule 2024

Wild Card Series

Date	Matchup	Network
Oct. 1	Tigers at Orioles	ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
	Royals at Astros	ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
	Diamondbacks at Brewers	ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
	Mets at Padres	ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
Oct. 2	Tigers at Orioles	ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
	Royals at Astros	ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
	Diamondbacks at Brewers	ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
	Mets at Padres	ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
Oct. 3	Tigers at Orioles*	ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
	Royals at Astros*	ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
	Diamondbacks at Brewers*	ABC, ESPN or ESPN2
	Mets at Padres*	ABC, ESPN or ESPN2

*If necessary

Division Series

Date	Matchup	Network
Oct. 5	Padres/Mets at Dodgers	Fox or FS1
	Brewers/Diamondbacks at Phillies	Fox or FS1
	Orioles/Tigers at Yankees	TBS
	Astros/Royals at Guardians	TBS
Oct. 6	Padres/Mets at Dodgers	Fox or FS1
	Brewers/Diamondbacks at Phillies	Fox or FS1
Oct. 7	Orioles/Tigers at Yankees	TBS
	Astros/Royals at Guardians	TBS
Oct. 8	Dodgers at Padres/Mets	Fox or FS1
	Phillies at Brewers/Diamondbacks	Fox or FS1
Oct. 9	Dodgers at Padres/Mets*	Fox or FS1
	Phillies at Brewers/Diamondbacks*	Fox or FS1
	Yankees at Orioles/Tigers	TBS
	Guardians at Astros/Royals	TBS
Oct. 10	Yankees at Orioles/Tigers*	TBS
	Guardians at Astros/Royals*	TBS
Oct. 11	Padres/Mets at Dodgers*	Fox or FS1
	Brewers/Diamondbacks at Phillies*	Fox or FS1
Oct. 12	Orioles/Tigers at Yankees	TBS
	Astros/Royals at Guardians	TBS

*If necessary

League Championship Series

Date	Matchup	Network
Oct. 13	NL Lower Seed at NL Higher Seed	Fox or FS1
Oct. 14	NL Lower Seed at NL Higher Seed	Fox or FS1
	AL Lower Seed at AL Higher Seed	TBS
Oct. 15	AL Lower Seed at AL Higher Seed	TBS
Oct. 16	NL Higher Seed at NL Lower Seed	Fox or FS1
Oct. 17	NL Higher Seed at NL Lower Seed	Fox or FS1
	AL Higher Seed at AL Lower Seed	TBS
Oct. 18	NL Higher Seed at NL Lower Seed*	Fox or FS1
	AL Higher Seed at AL Lower Seed	TBS
Oct. 20	AL Higher Seed at AL Lower Seed*	TBS
Oct. 22	NL Lower Seed at NL Higher Seed*	Fox or FS1
Oct. 23	NL Lower Seed at NL Higher Seed*	Fox or FS1
	AL Lower Seed at AL Higher Seed*	TBS
Oct. 24	AL Lower Seed at AL Higher Seed*	TBS

*If necessary

World Series

Date	Matchup	Network
Oct. 25	League Champ 2 at League Champ 1	Fox
Oct. 26	League Champ 2 at League Champ 1	Fox
Oct. 28	League Champ 1 at League Champ 2	Fox
Oct. 29	League Champ 1 at League Champ 2	Fox
Oct. 30	League Champ 1 at League Champ 2*	Fox
Nov. 1	League Champ 2 at League Champ 1*	Fox
Nov. 2	League Champ 2 at League Champ 1*	Fox

*If necessary

How do MLB playoffs work?

The playoff structure in the league is as follows:

• No. 1 seed: Best league record
• No. 2 seed: Second-best division winner
• No. 3 seed: Third-best division winner 
• No. 4 seed: Best record among non-division winners
• No. 5 seed: Second-best record among non-division winners
• No. 6 seed: Third-best record among non-division winners

The top seeds in each league receive byes for the wild-card round and wait to host the two division series matchups. The No. 3 seed will host the No. 6 seed in a best-of-three series, while the No. 4 seed will host the No. 5 seed. All games will be played at the higher seed.

In the divisional round, the No. 1 seed will play the winner of the series between the No. 4 team and No. 5 team. The No. 2 seed will play either the No. 3 or No. 6 seed. Those divisional matchups will be best-of-five series, with the first two games played at the higher seed, the next two played at the lower seed and the final game played at the higher seed.

The Division Series winners will meet in a best-of-seven League Championship Series, with the higher seed hosting Games 1, 2, 6 and 7, and the lower seed hosting Games 3, 4 and 5. The winners of the League Championship Series will then head to the World Series with the same hosting format, with the seeding based on regular-season records.

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Regular-season tiebreakers

MLB eliminated Game 163s under its revised playoff format, meaning the league will turn to a tie-breaking system to resolve any teams with even records at the end of the year.

Here's how that tiebreaker shakes up:

• Head-to-head record
• Intradivision record
• Interdivision record
• Last half of intraleague games
• Last half of intraleague games plus one