MLB Playoff Field Set as Phillies and Astros Clinch on Final Day
The 2026 Major League Baseball postseason field was completed on the final day of the regular season, with the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros both securing their places on Sunday.
The Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-3 to claim the third National League wild card and the sixth seed, holding off a late charge from the Arizona Diamondbacks, who lost to San Diego and were eliminated.
Houston took the American League West when the Texas Rangers lost 6-4 to Minnesota. The Rangers were eliminated.
The Brackets
Tampa Bay finished as the American League's top seed after winning the AL East, with Cleveland second following their AL Central title. Both receive a first-round bye.
Houston take the third seed, with the New York Yankees fourth, the Boston Red Sox fifth and the Chicago White Sox sixth as wild cards. That sets up White Sox at Astros and Red Sox at Yankees in the Wild Card Series.
In the National League, Milwaukee finished with the best record and the top seed, ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers, with both earning byes. Atlanta are third after winning the NL East, San Diego fourth, the Chicago Cubs fifth and Philadelphia sixth.
That produces Phillies at Braves and Cubs at Padres.
The Surprises
The White Sox reaching October represents the most striking turnaround of the season. They lost 121 games in 2024, the most in modern major league history, and 102 more in 2025. They led the AL Central for much of September before Cleveland overhauled them in the final fortnight.
Tampa Bay were widely tipped to finish bottom of the AL East in preseason projections after consecutive fourth-place finishes, and instead claimed the division and the league's best record.
The Red Sox recovered from 14 games below .500 in June, a run that included a 15-game winning streak from 3 July equalling a franchise record set in 1946.
The Dodgers, chasing a third consecutive World Series, secured a 14th straight postseason appearance, equalling the Atlanta Braves' record from 1991 to 2005.
The Schedule
All four Wild Card Series begin on Tuesday. They are best-of-three, with the higher seed hosting every game, and conclude by Thursday if a deciding game is required.
The Division Series follow, with the World Series scheduled to begin on 23 October and a potential Game 7 on 31 October.
The format is unchanged for a fifth consecutive season. Three division winners and three wild card teams qualify from each league, with the division winner holding the weakest record facing the lowest-seeded wild card, leaving the two best wild card teams to meet each other.
