ALDS and NLDS 2026: the schedule, the matchups and how to follow every game
The Division Series start Saturday, October 3, with Game 1 of all four series on the same day: the White Sox at the Guardians at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, the Braves at the Dodgers at 4:00, the Yankees at the Rays at 6:30 and the Padres at the Brewers at 8:30. Each series is a best-of-five, and the four winners go on to the American and National League Championship Series.
The four matchups
American League
- White Sox at Guardians. Chicago (84-78) swept Houston in the Wild Card Series, 6-3 and 7-3, both in Houston. Cleveland (85-77) sat out that round with a bye. ESPN lists Hagen Smith and Parker Messick as the Game 1 starters.
- Yankees at Rays. New York (93-68) beat Boston 9-0 and 9-2 at Yankee Stadium. Tampa Bay (98-64) had a bye. Game 1 is listed as Gerrit Cole against Drew Rasmussen.
National League
- Braves at Dodgers. Atlanta (94-68) needed all three games against Philadelphia: a 5-3 win, a 4-3 loss in ten innings, then a 6-2 win. Los Angeles (100-62) had a bye. Game 1 is listed as Dylan Dodd against Tarik Skubal.
- Padres at Brewers. San Diego (91-71) beat the Cubs 8-0 and 4-1 at Petco Park. Milwaukee (103-59) had a bye. Game 1 is listed as Robbie Ray against Jacob Misiorowski.
The full schedule
Every game, in Eastern time, as ESPN lists them on October 3. The games marked if needed are played only if neither team has won three; their times can still move.
| Date | Time | Game | TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 3 | 1:00 p.m. | ALDS Game 1: White Sox at Guardians | TBS, truTV |
| Sat., Oct. 3 | 4:00 p.m. | NLDS Game 1: Braves at Dodgers | FOX |
| Sat., Oct. 3 | 6:30 p.m. | ALDS Game 1: Yankees at Rays | TBS, truTV |
| Sat., Oct. 3 | 8:30 p.m. | NLDS Game 1: Padres at Brewers | FS1 |
| Sun., Oct. 4 | 4:00 p.m. | NLDS Game 2: Padres at Brewers | FS1 |
| Sun., Oct. 4 | 8:00 p.m. | NLDS Game 2: Braves at Dodgers | FS1 |
| Mon., Oct. 5 | 5:00 p.m. | ALDS Game 2: White Sox at Guardians | TBS, truTV |
| Mon., Oct. 5 | 8:00 p.m. | ALDS Game 2: Yankees at Rays | TBS, truTV |
| Tue., Oct. 6 | 6:00 p.m. | NLDS Game 3: Dodgers at Braves | FS1 |
| Tue., Oct. 6 | 9:30 p.m. | NLDS Game 3: Brewers at Padres | FS1 |
| Wed., Oct. 7 | 4:00 p.m. | ALDS Game 3: Guardians at White Sox | TBS, truTV |
| Wed., Oct. 7 | 6:00 p.m. | NLDS Game 4, if needed: Dodgers at Braves | FS1 |
| Wed., Oct. 7 | 8:00 p.m. | ALDS Game 3: Rays at Yankees | TBS, truTV |
| Wed., Oct. 7 | 10:00 p.m. | NLDS Game 4, if needed: Brewers at Padres | FS1 |
| Thu., Oct. 8 | 5:00 p.m. | ALDS Game 4, if needed: Guardians at White Sox | TBS, truTV |
| Thu., Oct. 8 | 8:00 p.m. | ALDS Game 4, if needed: Rays at Yankees | TBS, truTV |
| Fri., Oct. 9 | 4:30 p.m. | NLDS Game 5, if needed: Padres at Brewers | FS1 |
| Fri., Oct. 9 | 8:00 p.m. | NLDS Game 5, if needed: Braves at Dodgers | FOX |
| Sat., Oct. 10 | 5:00 p.m. | ALDS Game 5, if needed: White Sox at Guardians | TBS, truTV |
| Sat., Oct. 10 | 8:00 p.m. | ALDS Game 5, if needed: Yankees at Rays | TBS, truTV |
How a best-of-five works
The first team to win three games takes the series. The team that had the bye is at home for Games 1 and 2 and for a fifth game if there is one; the Wild Card winner is at home for Games 3 and 4. That is why every series opens in Cleveland, Tampa Bay, Los Angeles or Milwaukee, and why a split of the first two games sends the series on the road needing two of the next three.
Following every game as it happens
With four games on the opening day and two or more on most days after, the hard part of a Division Series weekend is keeping all of it in view at once. GridTicker puts every game on one scrolling strip, in a browser on a second monitor, a laptop or any screen in the room:
- Before first pitch, each game shows its start time and channel, and each side's probable starting pitcher with their record and ERA.
- Once it starts, the score with runs, hits and errors, the inning, the runners on base, the outs and the count, with the batter and the pitcher.
- Under every score, the round and the game, ALDS - Game 1, and how the series stands. The game that settles a series says who won it.
- NO-HITTER BID appears from the fifth inning while a team has no hits, naming the pitcher, and a RAIN DELAY keeps the inning the game stopped in.
- The whole bracket, with baseball's tables switched on: one double-sided bracket with the American League from the left and the National League from the right, each series with each team's wins in it, and the World Series in the middle. A team that goes out is dimmed. It is in the guide under the postseason bracket.
- Your team first: star it under Favorites and its games lead the strip.
Every new GridTicker account starts with a trial, and the signup page says how long it lasts. Set up your strip before the first pitch, and the rest of October follows on it.