As the MLB regular season enters its final stretch, baseball's postseason calendar moves to the front burner.
The 2026 MLB playoffs begin Tuesday, Sept. 29 with the wild-card round kicking off a monthlong chase for the World Series. While teams continue battling for division titles, wild-card berths and postseason seeding, fans can already mark the dates for every round of October baseball.
Here's the full schedule for the 2026 MLB playoffs, from the wild-card series through the World Series (spoiler alert: a potential Game 7 has spooky implications).
MLB wild card series schedule
The best-of-three AL and NL wild-card playoffs will begin with all four series playing on the same days. The division winners with the worst overall record in each league, along with the wild-card teams
with the best record in each league, will host all games.
- Game 1: Tuesday, Sept. 29
- Game 2: Wednesday, Sept. 30
- Game 3: Thursday, Oct. 1 (if necessary)
MLB division series schedule
The best-of-five AL and NL division series will open with all four series on the same day. However, the AL and NL games will be staggered after that.
AL division series
- Game 1: Saturday, Oct. 3
- Game 2: Monday, Oct. 5
- Game 3: Wednesday, Oct. 7
- Game 4: Thursday, Oct. 8 (if necessary)
- Game 5: Saturday, Oct. 10 (if necessary)
All ALDS games will air on TBS/truTV/HBO Max.
NL division series
- Game 1: Saturday, Oct. 3
- Game 2: Sunday, Oct. 4
- Game 3: Tuesday, Oct. 6
- Game 4: Wednesday, Oct. 7 (if necessary)
- Game 5: Friday, Oct. 9 (if necessary)
All NLDS games will air on Fox/FS1.
MLB league championship series schedule
The best-of-seven AL and NL championship series will begin on Oct. 11 and 12.
AL championship series
- Game 1: Monday, Oct. 12
- Game 2: Tuesday, Oct. 13
- Game 3: Thursday, Oct. 15
- Game 4: Friday, Oct. 16
- Game 5: Saturday, Oct. 17 (if necessary)
- Game 6: Monday, Oct. 19 (if necessary)
- Game 7: Tuesday, Oct. 20 (if necessary)
All ALCS games will air on TBS/truTV/HBO Max.
NL championship series
- Game 1: Sunday, Oct. 11
- Game 2: Monday, Oct. 12
- Game 3: Wednesday, Oct. 14
- Game 4: Thursday, Oct. 15
- Game 5: Friday, Oct. 16 (if necessary)
- Game 6: Sunday, Oct. 18 (if necessary)
- Game 7: Monday, Oct. 19 (if necessary)
All NLCS games will air on Fox/FS1.
When is the World Series?
The best-of-seven World Series will begin on Oct. 23 at the home park of the team with the better regular-season record.
- Game 1: Friday, Oct. 23
- Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 24
- Game 3: Monday, Oct. 26
- Game 4: Tuesday, Oct. 27
- Game 5: Wednesday, Oct. 28 (if necessary)
- Game 6: Friday, Oct. 30 (if necessary)
- Game 7: Saturday, Oct. 31 (if necessary)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB playoff schedule 2026: Dates for every postseason round, World Series
