It took an extra day and a memorable doubleheader between the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets, but the complete MLB playoff bracket is officially finalized.
Here’s what you need to know:
- The playoffs begin Tuesday with two Wild Card Series in each league.
- The New York Yankees are the top seed in the AL playoffs for the first time since 2012, while the Los Angeles Dodgers are the top seed in the NL for the fifth time since 2017.
- The Cleveland Guardians, the second seed in the AL, and Philadelphia Phillies, second seed in the NL, also have byes into the Division Series.
- The Mets clinched a spot Monday thanks to a Francisco Lindor two-run homer in an epic 8-7 victory over the Braves in Game 1. The Braves then turned around and won Game 2, eliminating the Arizona Diamondbacks.
- The Tigers — who had been tied with the Angels for the longest playoff drought — are in the postseason for the first time in 10 years, while the Royals are in the playoffs for the first time since 2015.
- Following those best-of-three series, the Division Series round will begin Saturday, Oct. 5.
Full playoff bracket
AL Wild Card Series (No. 1 Yankees and No. 2 Guardians have byes)
- No. 6 Tigers at No. 3 Astros
- No. 5 Royals at No. 4 Orioles
NL Wild Card Series (No. 1 Dodgers and No. 2 Phillies have byes)
AL Division Series
- Orioles or Royals vs. No. 1 Yankees
- Astros or Tigers vs. No. 2 Guardians
NL Division Series
- Padres or Braves vs. No. 1 Dodgers
- Brewers or Mets vs. No. 2 Phillies
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
Who should be the World Series favorite?
The projections at FanGraphs as of Monday favored the Phillies, giving them an 18 percent chance to win it all. The betting markets like the Phillies, Yankees and Dodgers.
But after a regular season in which no team won 100 games for the first time since 2014, the postseason field is wide open. Last year’s two League Championship Series included three wild-card teams, and the World Series featured the fifth seed from the AL (Rangers) and the sixth seed from the NL (Diamondbacks). That came after the sixth seed Phillies reached the World Series in 2022, the first year the postseason expanded to include three wild cards in each league.
How about a stealth favorite?
The field will surely not like this, but how about the Astros?
They have baseball’s best record since April 27 and their pitching staff has the lowest ERA since May 1.
The Astros can extend their streak of ALCS appearances to eight, which would tie the Atlanta Braves (1991 to 1999) for most consecutive LCS appearances in history.
Best Wild Card Series storyline?
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch is headed back to Houston, where he guided the Astros to a World Series championship in 2017 before being suspended and fired in 2020 in the wake of the club’s sign-stealing scandal.
Hinch returned to managing in Detroit in 2021 and, after three straight losing seasons, has helped finish off a rebuild and lead the Tigers back to October after a decade drought.
“There’s nothing better than October baseball,” Hinch said Monday at Minute Maid Park in Houston. “And I have gotten to experience a lot of it, and a lot of it in this building.
“It’s the best month to play … and October baseball has really defined this building and this place for a while. We all watch baseball. If you’re not in it, you’re glued to the TV. If you’re in it, a lot of times Septembers and Octobers have had to come through here.”
Upset watch
Feel free to quibble with the term “upset” in a three-game series between two postseason teams.
But look out for the Mets.
The biggest question was whether the Mets could survive the season’s final week. But forget about that. They are here now. And they’ve brought the memes, from Grimace to “OMG” to 24-35 in early June.
The Mets went 65-37 over their next 102 games to clinch a playoff spot. It was the best record in baseball during that span.
They will now take on the Milwaukee Brewers in a series that will feature David Stearns, the Mets president of baseball operations, facing his old team.
Rematch, 10 years later
A decade ago, the Orioles faced off against the Royals in an unexpected American League Championship Series matchup. The series, at the time, was known for its contrasting managers — the Orioles’ Buck Showalter and the Royals’ Ned Yost.
The Royals swept the series in four games, and 10 years later just one player remains from either team: Royals catcher Salvador Perez, who turned 34 in May.
Players to watch?
We’ll have to wait until the Division Series round to see the presumptive MVP favorites — the Yankees’ Aaron Judge in the AL and the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani in the NL. The Yankees’ Juan Soto, the Phillies’ Bryce Harper, the Guardians’ Jose Ramirez and the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts will also get four more days of rest.
But there will still be plenty of star power on display on Tuesday. The playoffs begin Tuesday with two Wild Card Series in each league, giving some of the biggest names a chance at playoff glory.
- Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. is making his playoff debut, and he’s matched up with Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson, who went 6-for-12 with a homer in last year’s Wild Card Series loss to the Rangers.
- Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, who will likely finish second in NL MVP voting, will return for his second postseason go-around in New York after making the postseason four times in Cleveland.
- Tigers ace Tarik Skubal — the likely AL Cy Young winner after posting a 2.39 ERA in 31 starts — will make his postseason debut Tuesday against the Astros in Houston. He’ll match up with Framber Valdez, who finished 15-7 with a 2.91 ERA.
- We’ll also get to watch a pair of young Jacksons — Jackson Merrill, the Padres’ 21-year-old center fielder and NL Rookie of the Year candidate, and Jackson Chourio, the Brewers’ 20-year-old outfielder.
(Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic)
