by Major League Baseball’s 2024 regular season is set to conclude in the next 36 hours (the Braves and Mets are currently scheduled for a potentially pivotal doubleheader on Monday). The play-off picture has largely been formed as 10 of the 12 teams in the postseason field have clinched their spots. The Braves, Mets and Diamondbacks will secure two of the final three spots before the 2024 MLB postseason begins.
Fittingly, this year’s playoff baseball begins on October 1st. The four best-of-three Wild Card Series will be held this week and the League Division Series quartet will begin on Saturday, October 5. We know the four teams that will host the Wild Card Series: the Astros, Orioles, Brouwers and Padres. And we know the four teams that retired from the LDS round: the Yankees, Guardians, Dodgers and Phillies. However, no Wild Card Series matchups have been set yet, and we’ll at least know the full AL seeds by Sunday night.
As a reminder, the 12-team playoff round is divided into four rounds. Eight teams play in the best-of-three Wild Card Series, with the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds in each league hosting the No. 6 and No. 5 teams, respectively. The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in each league earn byes in the League Division Series, which kicks off on Saturday, October 5.
The 2024 World Series starts on Friday, October 25 or Tuesday, October 22. The start date will be moved up if both the ALCS and NLCS end in five games or less.
Do you have it? Good. Below is the full schedule for the 2024 postseason. MLB should announce game times for the Wild Card Series on Sunday night or Monday.
Wildcard series
Tuesday October 1
AL Wild Card Series Game 1: Astros vs. Royals/Tigers, time TBA
AL Wild Card Series Game 1: Orioles vs. Royals/Tigers, time TBA
NL Wild Card Series Game 1: Brewers vs. Braves/Mets/D-backs, time TBA
NL Wild Card Series Game 1: Padres vs. Braves/Mets-D-backs, time TBA
Tuesday October 2
AL Wild Card Series Game 2: Astros vs. Royals/Tigers, time TBA
AL Wild Card Series Game 2: Orioles vs. Royals/Tigers, time TBA
NL Wild Card Series Game 2: Brewers vs. Braves/Mets/D-backs, time TBA
NL Wild Card Series Game 2: Padres vs. Braves/Mets-D-backs, time TBA
Tuesday October 3
AL Wild Card Series Game 3: Astros vs. Royals/Tigers, time TBA (if necessary)
AL Wild Card Series Game 3: Orioles vs. Royals/Tigers, time TBA (if necessary)
NL Wild Card Series Game 3: Brewers vs. Braves/Mets/D-backs, time TBA (if necessary)
NL Wild Card Series Game 3: Padres vs. Braves/Mets-D-backs, time TBA (if necessary)
Division series
Saturday October 5
ALDS Game 1: Guardians vs. TBD
ALDS Game 1: Yankees vs. TBD
NLDS Game 1: Phillies vs. TBA
NLDS Game 1: Dodgers vs. TBA
Sunday October 6
NLDS Game 2: Phillies vs. TBA
NLDS Game 2: Dodgers vs. TBA
Monday October 7
ALDS Game 2: Guardians vs. TBD
ALDS Game 2: Yankees vs. TBD
Tuesday October 8
NLDS Game 3: TBA vs. Phillies
NLDS Game 3: TBA vs. Dodgers
Wednesday October 9
ALDS Game 3: TBA vs. Guardians
ALDS Game 3: TBA vs. Yankees
NLDS Game 4: TBA vs. Phillies (if necessary)
NLDS Game 4: TBA vs. Dodgers (if necessary)
Thursday October 10
ALDS Game 4: TBD vs. Guardians (if necessary)
ALDS Game 4: TBA vs. Yankees (if necessary)
Friday October 11
NLDS Game 5: Phillies vs. TBA (if necessary)
NLDS Game 5: Dodgers vs. TBD (if necessary)
Saturday October 12
ALDS Game 5: Guardians vs. TBD (if necessary)
ALDS Game 5: Yankees vs. TBD (if necessary)
Championship series
Sunday October 13
NLCS Game 1: TBD vs. TBD
Monday October 14th
ALCS Game 1: TBD vs. TBA
NLCS Game 2: TBD vs. TBD
Tuesday October 15
ALCS Game 2: TBD vs. TBD
Wednesday October 16
NLCS Game 3: TBD vs. TBD
Thursday October 17
ALCS Game 3: TBD vs. TBD
NLCS Game 4: TBD vs. TBD
Friday October 18
ALCS Game 4: TBD vs. TBD
NLCS Game 5: TBD vs. TBD (if necessary)
Saturday October 19
ALCS Game 5: TBD vs. TBD (if necessary)
Sunday October 20
NLCS Game 6: TBD vs. TBD (if necessary)
Monday Oct 21
ALCS Game 6: TBD vs. TBD (if necessary)
NLCS Game 7: TBD vs. TBD (if necessary)
Tuesday October 22
ALCS Game 7: TBD vs. TBD (if necessary)
World series
(The 2024 World Series schedule is subject to change. Each game will be moved up three days if both the ALCS and NLCS end in five games or fewer.)
Friday October 25
World Series Game 1: TBD vs. TBD
Saturday October 26
World Series Game 2: TBD vs. TBD
Monday October 28
World Series Game 3: TBD vs. TBA
Tuesday October 29
World Series Game 4: TBD vs. TBD
Wednesday October 30
World Series Game 5: TBD vs. TBD (if necessary)
Friday November 1
World Series Game 6: TBD vs. TBD (if necessary)
Saturday November 2
World Series Game 7: TBD vs. TBD (if necessary)
