Major League Baseball released the broadcast plan for the Wild Card Series on Sunday, the same day the regular season closed and the last two playoff berths were settled. All four best-of-three matchups open Tuesday and can stretch through Thursday, airing across NBC, Peacock, and NBC Sports Network in the NBC deal’s first October, marking the network’s first taste of postseason baseball since the 2000 ALCS. Spanish-language coverage runs on Universo and Univision, while ESPN Radio carries national audio throughout the postseason.
How the Wild Card Era Began
A fun fact for baseball fans under 30 — the wild card didn’t always exist. MLB added a third division to each league in 1994, creating a single wild-card berth per league for the top non-division winner. A players’ strike erased that postseason, delaying the format’s debut to 1995, when the New York Yankees and Colorado Rockies became the first two wild-card teams. For 17 years, one wild card per league met a division winner directly in the Division Series with no preliminary Wild Card round.
Two Expansions Reshaped the Format
The format expanded twice more. A second wild card joined each league in 2012, sending the pair of wild-card teams into a single win-or-go-home game ahead of the Division Series, a setup that ran through 2019, took a break for the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, and returned in 2021.
But the very next year, MLB added a third wild card to each league, replacing that one-game playoff with the best-of-three Wild Card Series that open Tuesday this year, while the top two division winners in each league earn byes into the Division Series.
| MLB 2026 WILD CARD SERIES — TV SCHEDULE | ||
|---|---|---|
| All games exclusive to NBC platforms (NBC, Peacock, NBCSN) |
| TUESDAY, SEPT. 29 — WILD CARD SERIES GAME 1 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Matchup | Time | TV / Streaming |
| Phillies @ Braves | 2 p.m. ET | NBC & Peacock |
| White Sox @ Astros | 5 p.m. ET | Peacock & NBCSN |
| Red Sox @ Yankees | 8 p.m. ET | NBC & Peacock |
| Cubs @ Padres | 10 p.m. ET | Peacock & NBCSN |
| WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 30 — WILD CARD SERIES GAME 2 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Matchup | Time | TV / Streaming |
| Phillies @ Braves | 2 p.m. ET | NBC & Peacock |
| White Sox @ Astros | 5 p.m. ET | Peacock & NBCSN |
| Red Sox @ Yankees | 8 p.m. ET | NBC & Peacock |
| Cubs @ Padres | 10 p.m. ET | Peacock & NBCSN |
| THURSDAY, OCT. 1 — WILD CARD SERIES GAME 3 (IF NEEDED) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Base schedule if all four series go to Game 3 | ||
| Matchup | Time | TV / Streaming |
| Phillies @ Braves | 2 p.m. ET | NBC & Peacock |
| White Sox @ Astros | 5 p.m. ET | Peacock & NBCSN |
| Red Sox @ Yankees | 8 p.m. ET | NBC & Peacock |
| Cubs @ Padres | 10 p.m. ET | Peacock & NBCSN |
| GAME 3 CONTINGENCY SCENARIOS | |
|---|---|
| If Series Already Over | Remaining Game 3 Schedule |
| Phillies vs. Braves is over | White Sox @ Astros: 2 p.m. ET (NBC & Peacock) Red Sox @ Yankees: 8 p.m. ET (NBC & Peacock) Cubs @ Padres: 10 p.m. ET (Peacock & NBCSN) |
| Cubs vs. Padres is over | Phillies @ Braves: 2 p.m. ET (NBC & Peacock) White Sox @ Astros: 5 p.m. ET (Peacock & NBCSN) Red Sox @ Yankees: 8 p.m. ET (NBC & Peacock) |
| Red Sox vs. Yankees is over | Phillies @ Braves: 2 p.m. ET (NBC & Peacock) White Sox @ Astros: 5 p.m. ET (Peacock & NBCSN) Cubs @ Padres: 8 p.m. ET (Peacock & NBCSN) |
| White Sox vs. Astros is over | Phillies @ Braves: 2 p.m. ET (NBC & Peacock) Red Sox @ Yankees: 8 p.m. ET (NBC & Peacock) Cubs @ Padres: 10 p.m. ET (Peacock & NBCSN) |
| BOS@NYY and CWS@HOU are over | Phillies @ Braves: 2 p.m. ET (NBC & Peacock) Cubs @ Padres: 8 p.m. ET (NBC & Peacock) |
| PHI@ATL and CHC@SD are over | White Sox @ Astros: 2 p.m. ET (NBC & Peacock) Red Sox @ Yankees: 8 p.m. ET (NBC & Peacock) |
| BOS@NYY and PHI@ATL are over | White Sox @ Astros: 2 p.m. ET (NBC & Peacock) Cubs @ Padres: 8 p.m. ET (NBC & Peacock) |
| BOS@NYY and CHC@SD are over | White Sox @ Astros: 2 p.m. ET (NBC & Peacock) Phillies @ Braves: 8 p.m. ET (NBC & Peacock) |
| CWS@HOU and PHI@ATL are over | Red Sox @ Yankees: 7 p.m. ET (NBC & Peacock) Cubs @ Padres: 9:30 p.m. ET (NBC & Peacock) |
| CWS@HOU and CHC@SD are over | Phillies @ Braves: 2 p.m. ET (NBC & Peacock) Red Sox @ Yankees: 8 p.m. ET (NBC & Peacock) |
| Any one-game scenario (only one Game 3 needed) | That single Game 3 airs at 8 p.m. ET (NBC & Peacock) |
| All Wild Card Series games streaming on Peacock; NBCSN available via YouTube TV, Fubo, and Xfinity. Peacock exclusives require Premium or Premium Plus subscription. | |
Sunday closed out two of the tightest remaining races. The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-3 to claim the final National League wild card and the No. 6 seed, eliminating the Arizona Diamondbacks after Arizona’s 9-4 loss at San Diego. In the American League, the Texas Rangers fell to the Minnesota Twins 6-4 while the Houston Astros routed the Athletics 9-0, handing Houston the AL West title and the No. 3 seed on the head-to-head tiebreaker. That locks the 12-team field, with the four division-winning byes locked in above and each Wild Card Series belonging to the higher seed for all three games.
How to Watch MLB Wild Card Series Live: TV Channels, Streaming For All Games