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
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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
- Yankees (East champion)
- Guardians (Central champion)
- Astros (West champion)
- Orioles (Wild card 1)
- Tigers (Wild card 2)
- Royals (Wild card 3)
National League
- Dodgers (West champion)
- Phillies (East champion)
- Brewers (Central champion)
- Padres (Wild card 1)
- Mets (Wild card 2)
- 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
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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