MLB playoffs got you confused? In a nutshell, they start with wildcards Baltimore vs. Toronto and wildcards San Francisco vs. New York Mets, then outright winners Boston vs. Cleveland, and Los Angeles vs. Washington. The Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers are waiting to see who wins the wild card games.
Now for the rest of the story and the details.
There are several scenarios to pay close attention to now that the six-month regular season rushed to its end over the weekend.
“Rushes to the end,” said Orioles Manager Buck Showalter at Yankee Stadium as he pondered fate . “That sounds like a great name for a book.”
Showalter has a lot to ponder after his team survived by the skin of its teeth, earning a date in Toronto for the American League wild-card game, which is set to be played on Tuesday, according to The New York Times.
The National League wild-card game will be the following night between the Mets and Giants at Citi Field.
The Orioles and the Blue Jays both won on Sunday, finishing with the same record, 89-73.
Both the Orioles and the Blue Jays will be looking for redemption, considering that Baltimore lost the A.L. Championship Series in 2014 and the Blue Jays lost the same series last year.
Neither of these teams has won a banner in some time, but they both have the potential to change that this year. The Orioles led the league in home runs this season, with 253, and the Blue Jays recorded 221, which was the next highest total among the 10 teams who made the playoffs.
On Thursday, the A.L. wild-card winner will face the Rangers, who finished the regular season with a 95-67 record, and the Boston will be to Cleveland to start their series with the Indians.
The National League series starts Friday in Chicago and Washington, as the Cubs (103-58) face their wild-card winner, and the Nationals will be hosting the Dodgers.
This N.L. match up should draw a lot of attention, as well, considering the competition that will be taking place between the pitchers, Noah Syndergaard of the Mets and Madison Bumgarner of the Giants.
Last year, the Yankees were in the World Series, and even though they only stole one win from Kansas City, that win came at the hands of Syndergaard, who made his presence known with a fastball pitch to the backstop, The Times noted.
As for Bumgarner, he’s widely known for his five-shutout innings in a road game that led the Royals to a Game 7 victory over the Giants in the 2014 World Series.
This just highlights some of the upcoming action that’s set to grace the MLB 2016 Playoffs.
For postseason rankings and scheduling, provided by the New York Daily News and Bleacher Report, take a look below.
Rankings
No. 1 Boston Red Sox
No. 2 Chicago Cubs
No. 3 Baltimore Orioles
No. 4 Toronto Blue Jays
No. 5 Texas Rangers
No. 6 Cleveland Indians
No. 7 Los Angeles Dodgers
No. 8 Washington Nationals
No. 9 New York Mets
No. 10 San Francisco Giants
Matchup's
OCTOBER 4
AL Wild Card
Orioles @ Blue Jays (TBS)
OCTOBER 5
NL Wild Card
Giants @ Mets (ESPN) — Bumgarner vs. Syndergaard
OCTOBER 6
ALDS Game 1
Red Sox @ Indians (TBS) — Porcello vs. Bauer
Wild Card Winner @ Rangers (TBS)
OCTOBER 7
NLDS Game 1
Dodgers @ Nationals (FS1)
Wild Card Winner @ Cubs (FS1)
ALDS GAME 2
Red Sox @ Indians (TBS) — Price vs. Kluber
Wild Card Winner @ Rangers (TBS)
OCTOBER 8
NLDS Game 2
Dodgers @ Nationals (FS1)
Wild Card Winner @ Cubs (FS1)
OCTOBER 9
ALDS Game 3
Rangers @ Wild Card Winner (TBS)
Indians @ Red Sox (TBS)
OCTOBER 10
NLDS Game 3
Nationals @ Dodgers (FS1)
Cubs @ Wild Card Winner (FS1)
ALDS Game 4 *
Rangers @ Wild Card Winner (TBS)
Indians @ Red Sox (TBS)
OCTOBER 11
NLDS Game 4*
Nationals @ Dodgers (FS1)
Cubs @ Wild Card Winner (FS1)
OCTOBER 12
ALDS Game 5*
Red Sox @ Indians (TBS)
Wild Card Winner @ Rangers (TBS)
OCTOBER 13
NLDS Game 5*
Dodgers @ Nationals (FS1)
Wild Card Winner @ Cubs (FS1)
© 2026 Newsmax. All rights reserved.