It’s not quite October yet, but MLB postseason action has arrived.
The latest: The wild-card round begins on Tuesday with a four-pack of games starting at 1:08 p.m. ET. These are best-of-three series, which means some teams will be sent home in a blink.
Check out the latest MLB wild-card schedule and odds for the Game 1 matchups.
MLB wild-card schedule notes
- For most of the season, the Detroit Tigers led the AL Central and were positioned to clinch a bye. But their 11-game division lead as of Sept. 4 whittled away to nothing in the closing weeks, thanks in part to an 87 wRC+ in the final month (dead last among playoff teams).
The Cleveland Guardians helped their cause by going 5-1 vs. Detroit in the final two weeks of the season to steal the division title. Game 1 will feel like a must-win for the Tigers with reigning AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal on the mound.
- The San Diego Padres and Chicago Cubs split their matchups this season, 3-3. Both teams went 2-1 at home against each other. San Diego posted a 7-1 record down the stretch and will start Nick Pivetta, who has a 2.38 ERA in 15 starts since July.
- The Red Sox/Yankees rivalry is nearly as old as baseball itself, and it’ll add another postseason chapter this week. Game 1 features a pair of new faces in the rivalry, as Garrett Crochet starts opposite Max Fried.
Crochet’s Red Sox went 4-0 vs. the Yankees in his first year with the club. As for Fried, he posted a 1.96 ERA in three starts vs. Boston but saw extremely limited run support. New York is 8-1 in Fried’s past nine starts overall, though.
- Which team is a more surprising entrant to the wild-card round: the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers, or a Cincinnati Reds squad that was playing sub-.500 baseball as recently as Sept. 16?
This is easily the most lopsided wild-card series on paper, but anything can happen in a span of three games. The Reds went 8-3 down the stretch to steal a playoff spot, but they were just 1-5 vs. the Dodgers during the regular season.
Game 1 wild-card matchups: Sept. 30
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Detroit Tigers vs. Cleveland Guardians
San Diego Padres vs. Chicago Cubs
Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees
Cincinnati Reds vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Jordan enjoys writing data-driven game previews and analysis articles — especially for MLB markets or NFL/NBA props. And as a proud Ohio University grad, he’ll always have a soft spot for college sports (especially if the Bobcats are involved). Previous stops include mlb.com, Sportsnet and The Athletic.