We’ve reached the final weekend of the season and the 2026 NL East champion Atlanta Braves have officially locked themselves into the three-seed and will be starting their Postseason journey at home in the Wild Card Series.
What we already know
We do know what day these games are going to be played but we still don’t know the time. Game 1 will take place on Tuesday, September 29, Game 2 will be on Wednesday, September 30 and if it comes down to it, Game 3 will be on Thursday, October 1. If the Braves can get through the Wild
Card Series then they’ll have at least one day of rest before jetting off to Los Angeles to face the Dodgers for another Postseason series.
We know that all of the games during the Wild Card Series will be airing on NBC/Peacock, so keep that in mind once we get closer to the event. We also know that since the Braves are in the three-seed, they’ll be hosting the series and hopefully that’ll turn into a serious advantage for the Braves during this particular Postseason run. If you’d rather hear the home slant on things, then you can mute the TV and turn on 680 The Fan so you can listen to Ben Ingram do play-by-play on the Braves Radio Network. Again, if you can’t stand the National broadcasts then I highly recommend going down that route during the Postseason run.
We know that the pitching will be a bit of a mystery after the first two games of the Wild Card Series. Chris Sale is very likely going to get the ball for Game 1 and I’d imagine that Tyler Mahle has pitched his way into being the Game 2 starter. After that, it’s anybody’s guess. It likely would’ve been Martín Pérez but unfortunately he’s been sidelined with a back injury. Bryce Elder would’ve been the next candidate, but he’s down while recovering from a procedure being done on his knee. It could be Grant Holmes or it could very well be a bullpen game — and we’ll have to see what the state of the bullpen is in after the first two games of the Wild Card Series.
So based off of that, we know that the Braves are very likely going to want to get this Wild Card Series done as soon as possible, as a third game could potentially throw everything into flux as far as Game 1 of the NLDS goes.
What we don’t know yet
We still don’t know when the Braves are going to be playing these games during their dates and we likely won’t know until the season ends. When it comes to the timing of these games, I’d have to imagine that maybe geography would play a role and that the Padres would get the “late” game if they host a Wild Card Series. I’d also guess that the Cubs would get a primetime slot no matter what, so I’m going to speculate that the Braves could be looking at a late afternoon/early evening slot for their Wild Card games. I have no clue how that’s going to shake out, so don’t hold me on that one.
We don’t know who the Braves will be facing during the Wild Card Series. We do know that it’ll likely be one of the Padres, Cubs, Phillies or Diamondbacks — and yes, the Diamondbacks are still alive after they’ve won five-straight games and there is a scenario where Arizona gets in and Philadelphia misses out. It’s a long-shot for the D-Backs but it’s still possible.
We don’t know the official rosters just yet but it’s pretty safe to assume that the usual suspects will be there. It’s only a matter of them staying healthy from now until the series begins and also filling out the edges of the roster. Will JR Ritchie make it onto the roster? Is DaShawn Keirsey Jr. going to play the Terrance Gore-type role as a crucial pinch-running option? Will the Braves load up on piggyback options to supplement their bullpen? It will be very fascinating to figure out how the rest of the roster gets filled out.
There are still a few questions to be answered but overall, the Postseason picture is starting to come into full focus. I’d imagine it’ll get clearer and clearer as the weekend progresses but for now, the Braves are in a pleasant holding pattern as they wait for their Postseason journey to begin. Let’s see what happens, folks.
