MLB Standings: Who's Left and the Postseason Bracket
As of Thursday morning, October 8, 2026, the MLB standings that count are the postseason bracket. Three of the four Division Series are over. The Tampa Bay Rays swept the New York Yankees 3-0, the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 3-1, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the San Diego Padres 3-1. The Chicago White Sox lead the Cleveland Guardians 2-1, and Game 4 is tonight at 8:00 PM ET on TBS and truTV. Below you'll find where every series stands, the regular-season records of all eight Division Series teams, and the schedule for the coming week.
The postseason standings right now
Once October starts, the division tables stop moving. From here, a team's standing is its record in the series it's playing.
American League
- ALDS: Tampa Bay Rays def. New York Yankees, 3-0. The Rays are in the ALCS.
- ALDS: Chicago White Sox lead Cleveland Guardians, 2-1. Game 4 is tonight at Rate Field.
- ALCS: The Rays play the Cleveland-Chicago winner, starting Monday, Oct. 12, at Tropicana Field.
National League
- NLDS: Los Angeles Dodgers def. Atlanta Braves, 3-1.
- NLDS: Milwaukee Brewers def. San Diego Padres, 3-1.
- NLCS: Dodgers vs. Brewers, starting Sunday, Oct. 11, at American Family Field.
Regular-season records of the Division Series teams
October seeding and home field come out of the regular-season standings. Here is how the eight Division Series teams finished, sorted by wins.
| Team | League | Regular season | Postseason status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milwaukee Brewers | NL | 103-59 | Won NLDS 3-1, in NLCS |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | NL | 100-62 | Won NLDS 3-1, in NLCS |
| Tampa Bay Rays | AL | 98-64 | Won ALDS 3-0, in ALCS |
| Atlanta Braves | NL | 94-68 | Lost NLDS 3-1 |
| New York Yankees | AL | 93-68 | Lost ALDS 3-0 |
| San Diego Padres | NL | 91-71 | Lost NLDS 3-1 |
| Cleveland Guardians | AL | 85-77 | Trail ALDS 2-1 |
| Chicago White Sox | AL | 84-78 | Lead ALDS 2-1 |
What the records tell you
- The NLCS matches the two biggest winners. No Division Series team won more games than Milwaukee's 103 or Los Angeles' 100. That's why the Brewers host Games 1 and 2, and the series moves to Dodger Stadium for Games 3 and 4.
- The Rays have the edge in home games. At 98-64, Tampa Bay hosts Games 1 and 2 of the ALCS against whoever wins Cleveland-Chicago.
- The last open series was the closest in the regular season. Cleveland finished 85-77 and Chicago 84-78, one game apart. The Guardians host a Game 5 at Progressive Field if it comes to that.
- The Yankees ran into a sweep. New York won 93 games and still went out 3-0. Game 3 ended Tampa Bay 4, New York 3 at Yankee Stadium.
How the last series got here
The White Sox won the first two games of the series, and Cleveland answered Wednesday afternoon with a 9-3 win at Rate Field. That left the series at 2-1. In a best-of-five, Chicago needs one more win and Cleveland needs two.
Tonight's probable starters are Parker Messick for Cleveland and Hagen Smith for Chicago. A White Sox win sends Chicago to Tampa Bay. A Guardians win forces Game 5 on Saturday night.
The schedule ahead
| Date | Game | Matchup | Ballpark | TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu, Oct. 8, 8:00 PM ET | ALDS Game 4 | Guardians at White Sox | Rate Field | TBS, truTV |
| Sat, Oct. 10, 8:00 PM ET | ALDS Game 5 (if necessary) | White Sox at Guardians | Progressive Field | TBS, truTV |
| Sun, Oct. 11 | NLCS Game 1 | Dodgers at Brewers | American Family Field | FS1, Fox |
| Mon, Oct. 12 | ALCS Game 1 | CLE/CHW at Rays | Tropicana Field | TBS, truTV |
| Mon, Oct. 12 | NLCS Game 2 | Dodgers at Brewers | American Family Field | FS1, Fox |
| Tue, Oct. 13 | ALCS Game 2 | CLE/CHW at Rays | Tropicana Field | TBS, truTV |
| Wed, Oct. 14 | NLCS Game 3 | Brewers at Dodgers | Dodger Stadium | FS1, Fox |
| Thu, Oct. 15 | ALCS Game 3 | Rays at CLE/CHW | CLE/CHW | TBS, truTV |
| Thu, Oct. 15 | NLCS Game 4 | Brewers at Dodgers | Dodger Stadium | FS1, Fox |
Start times for the League Championship Series aren't firm in the listings yet, so check closer to each game.
Reading the standings in October
During the season, standings mean games behind, winning percentage and, near the end, magic numbers. In the postseason, all of that becomes one question: how many wins does each team have in its series? A Division Series goes to the first team to win three, so "leads series 2-1" means the leader is one win away. Regular-season records still matter in two ways: they decide who gets the extra home game, and they show how big an upset is. A 93-win team losing to a 98-win team is no shock. An 84-78 team holding a lead over an 85-77 team is about even.
Following MLB standings on GridTicker
GridTicker is a live ticker that runs in a browser, on a spare monitor or a TV. It handles the change from season to postseason for you. Under Settings → Sports, tick MLB in the Standings box. During the season, the strip then carries a row for each division plus a wild-card table for each league, with baseball's magic number in the last weeks and a red box on any team that can no longer reach the postseason. The league also has to be turned on under Feeds.
When the first postseason game starts, the bracket replaces the tables. Baseball's bracket is double-sided: the American League runs in from the left and the National League from the right, each round labeled (AL WC, AL DS, AL CS; NL CS, NL DS, NL WC), with the World Series in the middle and an empty box above it for the champion. Each series takes one line, like TB 3-0 NYY. Once a series is decided, the winner's name turns green and the loser's red. A round nobody has reached yet reads --- v ---, which is how the ALCS line looks until Cleveland and Chicago finish.
Playoff games on the strip show their round and the series score under the clock. A game still to come shows its start time, its channel and each side's probable starting pitcher. Turn on Records and every upcoming game also shows each team's win-loss record next to its name. Once there's a champion, the tables come back with the final bracket beside them.
If you want the bracket on a spare screen for the LCS, you can set up a strip in a few minutes.