Everything you need to know about the 2025 MLB postseason

The MLB playoffs consist of four rounds: the best-of-three Wild Card (WC) Series, the best-of-five League Division Series (LDS), the best-of-seven League Championship Series (LCS), and, of course, the reason for the season: the best-of-seven World Series, which begins on Friday, October 24th. That’s a whole lot of baseball.

The 12-team postseason field features six squads from each league — the American League (AL) and National League (NL). That includes the three divisional winners (East, Central, and West) and each league’s three next-best teams (aka the WCs).

If this sounds a bit different than the format you grew up with, you’re right! As of 2022, there are two three-game WC series, with all three games hosted by the higher seed. There’s no place like home, after all.

• The new format also gives each league’s top two teams a bye to the LDS, granting those squads some well-earned rest.

We’ll dive deeper into each team below, but let’s lead off with a few headlines driving the conversation as the calendar turns to October.

😮 Defending champ LA Dodgers land in the Wild Card: Yes, the dynastic Blue Crew are making their 13th straight postseason appearance, but their journey will begin a bit earlier as they feature in the WC for just the third time in this run and the first since 2021.

• And almighty LA looks uncharacteristically vulnerable as injuries wreak havoc on their stacked roster. *gulps*

😬 Houston Astros miss playoffs for first time since 2016: Houston, they have a problem. The ’Stros’ streak of eight straight postseasons — a span that included four World Series appearances — was snapped after an up-and-down, injury-filled season.

• Also absent from the playoff field are the NY Mets, who missed out on October despite landing superstar free agent Juan Soto in the offseason and sporting the second-highest payroll in baseball. Ouch.

🔥 Anything can happen in October: Even after a long and grueling 162-game regular season, postseason baseball is notoriously flukey. A 2023 study found that the best team on paper fails to win the World Series more than half the time, compared to a quarter of the time in other major American men’s sports. And that’s why you play the games.

🐯🛡️ No. 6 Detroit Tigers vs. No. 3 Cleveland Guardians — 1:08 p.m. ET: The back-and-forth battle for AL Central supremacy continues as these divisional foes go head-to-head once again. ICYMI: Cleveland, buoyed by sharp pitching, clawed back from what was once a 15.5-game deficit, overtaking the Tigers to claim the division crown.

• And while Detroit stumbled down the stretch, they will have their ace pitcher, AL Cy Young favorite Tarik Skubal, on the mound for today’s crucial Game 1. As he goes, the Tigers go.

🧦🍎 No. 5 Boston Red Sox vs. No. 4 NY Yankees — 6:08 p.m. ET: Another divisional matchup, there’s no love lost between these bitter AL East rivals. Boston took nine of their 13 thrilling and always lengthy regular-season contests, but NY had the most recent laugh, winning a pivotal September series in Boston.

• The main battle to watch? Sox ace Garrett Crochet vs. Yanks slugger Aaron Judge. Boston’s Cy Young candidate kept the reigning AL MVP in check this season, but Judge can never be underestimated.

🔱 No. 2 Seattle Mariners (bye to ALDS): Powered by the aforementioned most discussed posterior in baseball, Seattle’s back atop the AL West for the first time since 2001. And it’s not just Home Run Derby champ Raleigh who’s blasting dingers — the Mariners rounded the bases 238 times this year, the third-most in baseball.

🐦 No. 1 Toronto Blue Jays (bye to ALDS): Canada’s team is soaring back into the postseason after a historic regular season that earned them their first AL East pennant since 2015. The Jays put the ball in play better than anyone, leading the league in team batting average behind a resurgent season for 36-year-old outfielder George Springer.

• Plus, the Blue Birds might majorly benefit from the extra rest, with hopes that shortstop Bo Bichette will return from a left knee sprain in time for the ALDS.

🔴💙 No. 6 Cincinnati Reds vs. No. 3 LA Dodgers — 9:08 p.m. ET: A real David vs. Goliath showdown, LA dominated the regular-season series, going 5-1 against Cincy this season. That’s why it’s no surprise the defending champ Dodgers are the runaway favorites, boasting one of the best offenses in the majors this season.

• The Reds have their work cut out for them, but they do have quite the one-two punch ready to silence these explosive LA bats: pitchers Hunter Greene and Andrew Abbott, who both posted sub-3.00 ERAs this season. Never say never.

🙏🐻 No. 5 San Diego Padres vs. No. 4 Chicago Cubs — 3:08 p.m. ET: Perhaps the most evenly matched WC matchup on the docket, these squads split the six regular-season games they played back in April. This one could be a true battle of offense vs. defense — the Cubs scored the fifth-most runs in MLB this year, while the Dads posted the third-best ERA.

• North Siders will have plenty to cheer for in their first home playoff game with fans since 2018 — including the recent return of four-time All-Star Kyle Tucker — while San Diego hurlers Nick Pivetta and Dylan Cease aim to silence the crowd. This is going to be good.

🔔 No. 2 Philadelphia Phillies (bye to NLDS): The Fightins have become a postseason mainstay, dancing into a fourth straight October after defending their NL East title. That said, they didn’t stick around long last season, suffering a stunning upset in the NLDS.

• That won’t be the case this time if designated hitter Kyle “Schwarbomb” Schwarber has anything to say about it.

🍻 No. 1 Milwaukee Brewers (bye to NLDS): Thanks to The Power of Friendship, the Brew Crew had the ultimate mid-season glow-up, coming back from a tough start to finish with the best record in the bigs. Plenty of role players helped them get the job done, along with the resurgence of 2018 NL MVP Christian Yelich.

The road to the Fall Classic begins when the Tigers face the Guardians today at 1:08 p.m. ET, airing on ESPN in the U.S. and Sportsnet in Canada, the first of a Wild Card quadruple-header.

• ESPN networks will be your go-to for the Wild Card round in the States before the later rounds air on Fox networks and TBS. And if you’re in Canada, you can tune in on Sportsnet all postseason long. Batter up!