The MLB Postseason is set and boy, oh boy, are the Wild Card matchups exciting! We get Red Sox versus Yankees in the Wild Card back-to-back seasons, the young and surging White Sox take on the 81-81 Houston Astros and the presumable MVP Yordan Alvarez. The NL is just as good with two superstar packed matchups between the Braves and Phillies, plus the Cubs and Padres. Let’s go over all the information for the playoffs, including seeding, scheduling, odds, and my best bets for the Wild Card series and World Series. All odds are via DraftKings.
American League Seeding
Advertisement
National League Seeding
The 2026 MLB Wild Card Bracket:
American League:
-
Chicago White Sox (6) vs. Houston Astros (3) – Winner plays the Guardians (2)
-
Boston Red Sox (5) vs. New York Yankees (4) – Winner plays the Rays (1)
National League:
-
Philadelphia Phillies (6) vs. Atlanta Braves (3) – Winner plays the Dodgers (2)
-
Chicago Cubs (5) vs. San Diego Padres (4) – Winner plays the Brewers (1)
Wild Card Schedule 2026 on NBC & Peacock for Games 1 and 2 (September 29 & 30)
September 29
-
Pregame show: 1:30 p.m. (Peacock)
-
Phillies vs. Braves (Game 1): 2 p.m. (NBC and Peacock)
-
White Sox vs. Astros (Game 1): 5 p.m. (Peacock)
-
Red Sox vs. Yankees (Game 1): 8 p.m. (NBC and Peacock)
-
Cubs vs. Padres (Game 1): 10 p.m. (Peacock)
September 30
-
Pregame show: 1:30 p.m. (Peacock)
-
Phillies vs. Braves (Game 2): 2 p.m. (NBC and Peacock)
-
White Sox vs. Astros (Game 2): 5 p.m. (Peacock)
-
Red Sox vs. Yankees (Game 2): 8 p.m. (NBC and Peacock)
-
Cubs vs. Padres (Game 2): 10 p.m. (Peacock)
Here is more information on each matchup’s date, time, and streaming.
Peacock offers one of the most comprehensive live sports streaming lineups available today, bringing together the NFL, NBA, MLB, WNBA, Premier League, NCAA football, NCAA basketball, golf, motorsports, and major global sporting events in a single service.
Odds to win the World Series via DraftKings
Odds to win the American and National League via DraftKings
Wild Card Series Predictions
Boston Red Sox (-160) vs New York Yankees (+130)
We couldn’t have asked for a better AL Wild Card matchup than the Red Sox and Yankees! New York and Boston meet in the postseason for the seventh time, including their third matchup in the Wild Card Series (2021, 2025). Last year, New York beat Boston 2-1 and Cam Schlittler turned in a start for the ages striking out 12 in Game 3. Schlittler will start Game 1, followed by Max Fried, then Gerrit Cole. The starting pitchers for the series are as follows:
Advertisement
Game 1: Cam Schlittler vs Payton Tolle
Game 2: Max Fried vs Sonny Gray
Game 3: Gerrit Cole vs Ranger Suarez
I think this series shapes up to be the best as bitter rivals duke it out back to back years. I think the Red Sox win this year and the absence of Aaron Judge can’t be overcome by the Yankees trio of Schlittler, Fried, and Cole. Payton Tolle and Sonny Gray will give the Yankees offense all it can handle. Ben Rice hit .222 in the postseason last year, Cody Bellinger hit .214, and Jazz Chisholm batted .182. I will take my shot on the Red Sox to get revenge from last season.
Prediction: Red Sox 2, Yankees 1
Best Bet: Red Sox to win series (+130)
Houston Astros (-135) vs Chicago White Sox (+115)
The American League has been a mess all year and I expect this series to be bananas. The starters aren’t set for this series because Houston had to fight tooth and nail to make the postseason. We do know that the Astros will start rookie RHP AJ Blubaugh in a bullpen game. Chicago will likely see two or three different pitchers in the first six to seven innings in Game 1, so there’s a lot of uncertainty on lineups and rotations a day before the games making it a little challenging to predict this series.
Advertisement
At DraftKings as of Monday around 4 PM Eastern, they are taking about 59% of the money and 61% of the handle on the White Sox to win the series. I don’t love that Chicago is getting more of the money than Houston, but it seems the public wants to root for this White Sox team, and so do I. I said after a slow start in the beginning of the year that Houston would come back and win the AL West because the division is so bad, but the Astros would be a fade in the postseason. I am sticking to my word. Go Sox!
Prediction: White Sox 2, Astros 1
Best Bet: White Sox to win the series (+115)
Atlanta Braves (-125) vs Philadelphia Phillies (+105)
These two teams don’t like each other. Did you know that the two longest trouts around the bases after a home run this year both came in Braves and Phillies games. Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a bomb and took over 32 seconds to round the bases. Bryce Harper returned the favor with a 34-second jog following a laser over the fence in a later game. I expect the benches to clear at least once and if we’re lucky it will be Game 1 when Chris Sale and Jesus Luzardo duel it out!
Advertisement
The highest handle of the playoff series comes in this matchup of NL East foes. It seems the public is loving Atlanta in this series. The Braves are getting 78% of the money and 69% of the tickets at DraftKings. When everyone zigs one way, I like the zag the other. I picked both of these teams in the spring to win the World Series at +1600 and +2000, so it’s a personal shame one of them has to lose in the Wild Card.
Prediction: Phillies 2, Braves 1
Best Bet: Phillies to win the series (+105)
Padres (-120) vs Cubs (+100)
We have another repeat meeting between 2025 Wild Card opponents. The Cubs beat the Padres last postseason, 2-1, and San Diego will try to extract revenge. Everyone is saying the Cubs are limping into the postseason after a 2-4 stretch to end the year, while the Padres are rolling with a 17-3 record over the last 20 games. San Diego is the hottest team entering the playoffs and at home, yet they are only -120 to win the series, which is strange to me. However, Chicago did win five out of six versus San Diego in the regular season — all coming in the first half of the year. The last time they played, Chicago destroyed San Diego, 23-3 back on July 1.
Advertisement
I was leaning the Cubs all week, but as we inch closer, I am starting to think the Padres are the obvious pick with how hot they’ve been. I don’t know. I will go Over 2.5 games played and switch to the Padres. Over 64% of bets at DraftKings are on the Cubs to win the series, but only 51% of the money, so there are bigger bets being placed on the Padres.
Prediction: Padres 2, Cubs 1
Best Bet: Over 2.5 Games (-110)
What devices does Peacock support?You can enjoy Peacock on a variety of devices. View the full list of supported devices here.
Don’t miss out! Subscribe to Peacock today.
Bracket Predictions and World Series Prediction:
American League:
Wild Card
#6 White Sox beat #3 Astros (2-1)
#5 Red Sox beat #4 Yankees (2-1)
Advertisement
ALDS
#2 Guardians beat #6 White Sox (3-1)
#5 Red Sox beat #1 Rays (3-2)
ALCS
#5 Red Sox beat #2 Guardians (4-2)
National League:
Wild Card
#4 Padres beat #5 Cubs (2-1)
#6 Phillies beat #3 Braves (2-1)
NLDS
#1 Brewers beat #4 Padres (3-1)
#2 Dodgers beat #6 Phillies (3-2)
NLCS
#1 Brewers beat #2 Dodgers (4-3)
World Series
#1 Brewers beat #5 Red Sox (4-1)
The exacta odds of Milwaukee beating Boston in the World Series is +5000 or 50-to-1.
For more MLB news, check out NBC Sports.
Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.
Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:
Advertisement
-
Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
-
Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
-
Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
-
Trysta Krick (@Trysta_Krick)
Read the full article here