The most action-packed month of the baseball season is here.
October means it’s playoff time — with 12 teams battling to win the 2025 World Series. The final day of the regular season saw the final spot in the postseason get clinched, and now the bracket is set.
Could it be the Los Angeles Dodgers winning back-to-back titles? Will the New York Yankees get redemption after losing in the Fall Classic last year? Or is another contender ready to step up and win it all?
Here’s everything to know for the 2025 MLB postseason, including the schedule, format and players to watch:
When does the MLB postseason start?
We all associate playoff baseball with October, but it technically starts before the calendar flips months in 2025.
The first games of the Wild Card Round will be on Tuesday, Sept. 30.
2025 MLB postseason format
The MLB playoff format is unchanged for the fourth straight year, with the three division winners and top three non-division winners in each league making the postseason.
The two division winners with the best record in each league automatically advance to the Division Series. The division winner with the worst record in each league faces the wild card team with the worst record, leaving the top two finishing wild card teams to also face off. The Wild Card Round is a best-of-three series with the higher seed hosting every game.
There is no reseeding, so the No. 1 seed in each league faces the winner of the No. 4 (first wild card) vs. No. 5 (second wild card). The No. 2 seed faces the winner of the No. 3 (third division winner) vs. No. 6 (third wild card). The ALDS and NLDS are best-of-five series with the higher seed hosting Games 1, 2 and 5 and the lower seed hosting Games 3 and 4.
The Championship Series are best-of-seven, with the higher remaining seed hosting Games 1, 2, 6 and 7 and the lower seed hosting Games 3, 4 and 5. The World Series is the same format, giving the team with the better regular-season record home-field advantage for Games 1, 2, 6 and 7.
MLB postseason bracket and seeds
Here are the seeds for the 2025 MLB postseason:
American League
- Toronto Blue Jays (AL East winner), 94-68
- Seattle Mariners (AL West winner), 90-72
- Cleveland Guardians (AL Central winner), 88-74
- New York Yankees (AL Wild Card), 94-68
- Boston Red Sox (AL Wild Card), 89-73
- Detroit Tigers (AL Wild Card), 87-75
National League
- Milwaukee Brewers (NL Central winner), 97-65
- Philadelphia Phillies (NL East winner), 96-66
- Los Angeles Dodgers (NL West winner), 93-69
- Chicago Cubs (NL Wild Card), 92-70
- San Diego Padres (NL Wild Card), 89-72
- Cincinnati Reds (NL Wild Card), 83-79
The matchups for the Wild Card Round are Reds at Dodgers, Padres at Cubs, Red Sox at Yankees and Tigers at Guardians. Here’s the full bracket:
2025 MLB postseason schedule
The full postseason schedule for every series has already been released. Here’s the slate:
Wild Card Series (ESPN platforms)
- Game 1 (of all Wild Card Series): Tuesday, Sept. 30
- Game 2 (of all Wild Card Series): Wednesday, Oct. 1
- Game 3 (of all necessary Wild Card Series): Thursday, Oct. 2
Division Series
- ALDS (both series on FOX/FS1)
- Game 1: Saturday, Oct. 4
- Game 2: Sunday, Oct. 5
- Game 3: Tuesday, Oct. 7
- Game 4 (if necessary): Wednesday, Oct. 8
- Game 5 (if necessary): Friday, Oct. 10
- NLDS (both series on TBS)
- Game 1: Saturday, Oct. 4
- Game 2: Monday, Oct. 6
- Game 3: Wednesday, Oct. 8
- Game 4 (if necessary): Thursday, Oct. 9
- Game 5 (if necessary): Saturday, Oct. 11
Championship Series
- ALCS (on FOX/FS1)
- Game 1: Sunday, Oct. 12
- Game 2: Monday, Oct. 13
- Game 3: Wednesday, Oct. 15
- Game 4: Thursday, Oct. 16
- Game 5 (if necessary): Friday, Oct. 17
- Game 6 (if necessary): Sunday, Oct. 19
- Game 7 (if necessary): Monday, Oct. 20
- NLCS (on TBS)
- Game 1: Monday, Oct. 13
- Game 2: Tuesday, Oct. 14
- Game 3: Thursday, Oct. 16
- Game 4: Friday, Oct. 17
- Game 5 (if necessary): Saturday, Oct. 18
- Game 6 (if necessary): Monday, Oct. 20
- Game 7 (if necessary): Tuesday, Oct. 21
World Series (FOX)
- Game 1: Friday, Oct. 24
- Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 25
- Game 3: Monday, Oct. 27
- Game 4: Tuesday, Oct. 28
- Game 5 (if necessary): Wednesday, Oct. 29
- Game 6 (if necessary): Friday, Oct. 31
- Game 7 (if necessary): Saturday, Nov. 1
When does the World Series start?
The World Series will start on Friday, Oct. 24, regardless of how early the ALCS and NLCS wrap up.