The shortened, 60-game regular season got rid of less than half of Major League Baseball’s 30 teams. The expanded playoffs will see 16 teams play October baseball this year. Both the first and second place finishers in each of baseball’s six divisions qualified for the postseason, along with two Wild Card teams from each league.
The top four teams in each league will host the other four playoff teams in a best-of-three game series for the Wild Card round. Baseball will move to a bubble format for the remainder of the playoffs with games played at neutral sites. American League teams will play in Los Angeles and San Diego; National League teams will play in Houston and Arlington, Texas. The World Series will be played in Arlington at Globe Life Park, the new home of the Texas Rangers.
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The Wild Card round began Tuesday for the American League. The Astros beat the Twins, the White Sox beat the A’s, the Rays beat the Blue Jays and the Yankees beat the Indians. A packed slate is on tap for Wednesday when all 16 playoff teams will be in action. The four National League series get underway, and the four American League series will each play Game 2. Here’s the schedule for today:
Wild Card games on Wednesday, Sept. 30
- Reds at Braves, Game 1 at 12 p.m. ET (9 a.m. PT) on ESPN
- Astros at Twins, Game 2 at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) on ESPN2
- Marlins at Cubs, Game 1 at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT) on ABC
- White Sox at A’s, Game 2 at 3 p.m. ET (12 p.m. PT) on ESPN
- Blue Jays at Rays, Game 2 at 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PT) on TBS
- Cardinals at Padres, Game 1 at 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT) on ESPN2
- Yankees at Indians, Game 2 at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT) on ESPN
- Brewers at Dodgers, Game 1 at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT) on ESPN
Read on for details on how you can watch today’s games along with the rest of the 2020 MLB playoffs without cable.
Mookie Betts and the Los Angeles Dodgers finished the regular season with the best record in baseball and enter the postseason as the top seed in the National League.
Harry How/Getty Images
What are the Wild Card matchups?
In recent years, only five teams from each league qualified for the playoffs. This year, eight teams from each league are playing past the regular season.
American League
- (1) Tampa Bay Rays vs. (8) Toronto Blue Jays
- (2) Oakland Athletics vs. (7) Chicago White Sox
- (3) Minnesota Twins vs. (6) Houston Astros
- (4) Cleveland Indians vs. (5) New York Yankees
National League
- (1) Los Angeles Dodgers vs. (8) Milwaukee Brewers
- (2) Atlanta Braves vs. (7) Cincinnati Reds
- (3) Chicago Cubs vs. (6) Miami Marlins
- (4) San Diego Padres vs. (5) St. Louis Cardinals
What channels do I need to watch the MLB playoffs?
The Wild Card round games will be shown on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and TBS. The Division Series will be on FS1, TBS and MLB Network. The ALCS will be on TBS, and the NLCS will be on Fox and FS1. The World Series will be broadcast on Fox.
What’s the schedule for the rest of the Wild Card round?
Game times and the TV broadcast schedule have been announced through the Wild Card round that ends Friday. Here’s the schedule for the next two days:
Thursday, Oct. 1
- Reds at Braves, Game 2 at 12 p.m. ET (9 a.m. PT) on ESPN
- Astros at Twins, Game 3* at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) on ESPN2
- Marlins at Cubs, Game 2 at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT) on ABC
- White Sox at A’s, Game 3* at 3 p.m. ET (12 p.m. PT) on ESPN
- Blue Jays at Rays, Game 3* at 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PT) on TBS
- Cardinals at Padres, Game 2 at 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT) on ESPN2
- Yankees at Indians, Game 3* at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT) on ESPN
- Brewers at Dodgers, Game 2 at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT) on ESPN
*If necessary.
Friday, Oct. 2
- Marlins at Cubs, Game 3* at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT) on ABC
- Reds at Braves, Game 3* at 3 p.m. ET (12 p.m. PT) on ESPN
- Brewers at Dodgers, Game 3* at 6:30 p.m. ET (3:30 p.m. PT) on ESPN
- Cardinals at Padres, Game 3* at 10 p.m. ET (7 p.m. PT) on ESPN
*If necessary.
If you’re looking ahead, here are the key dates for the MLB postseason:
- Monday, Oct. 5: ALDS begins
- Tuesday, Oct. 6: NLDS begins
- Sunday, Oct. 11: ALCS begins
- Monday, Oct. 12: NLCS begins
- Tuesday, Oct. 20: World Series begins
How can I watch the MLB playoffs without cable?
You don’t need cable or satellite TV to watch the MLB postseason. Most or all of the channels that show playoff games are offered on the major live TV streaming services, and all of them offer Fox for the World Series. Not every service carries your local Fox station, however, so check the links below to make sure it’s available in your area.
If you just want to watch the Wild Card games on ABC, or the World Series on Fox, you can do so with an over-the-air digital antenna. We have a few cheap suggestions for the best indoor antennas.
YouTube TV costs $65 a month and includes all seven channels for postseason baseball. Plug in your ZIP code on its welcome page to see which local networks are available in your area.
Read our YouTube TV review.
AT&T TV Now’s basic $55-a-month Plus package includes all of the postseason baseball channels except MLB Network, which is part of the $110-per-month Choice package. You can use its channel lookup tool to see which local channels are available where you live.
Read our AT&T TV Now review.
Hulu with Live TV costs $55 a month and includes all of the postseason baseball channels except MLB Network. Click the “View channels in your area” link on its welcome page to see which local channels are offered in your ZIP code.
Read our Hulu with Live TV review.
FuboTV costs $65 a month and includes all of the postseason baseball channels except TBS. Click here to see which local channels you get.
Read our FuboTV review.
Sling does not offer ABC and offers Fox only in a handful of areas. Otherwise its $45-a-month Blue/Orange package includes all the postseason baseball channels except for MLB Network. To get MLB Network, you must spring for the $10-a-month Sports Extra add-on.
Read our Sling TV review.
Other ways to watch baseball online
MLB.TV is great for watching out-of-market baseball games during the regular season, but it’s less useful for tuning into baseball’s postseason because you must be a subscriber to a participating pay TV provider. The list is short and can be found here. If you are a subscriber to one of the pay TV providers listed, the MLB.TV Postseason Package will run you $25. To sweeten the deal, the Postseason Package includes spring training games next year.
Another option if you’re a cable subscriber is using the Fox Sports Go app. Unlike the MLB.com At Bat, you can watch the World Series for free — well, for no more than you’re already paying for cable. The Fox Sports Go app works with iOS devices, Android devices and the Amazon Kindle Fire as well as with Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, Google Chromecast, Roku and Xbox. You can also access Fox Sports Go from a computer.
You can use the free Watch TBS app or TBS.com to watch the ALDS and ALCS but you’ll need to prove you pay for cable. The TBS app works with the Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku platforms.
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