Happy MLB postseason to all who celebrate. That’s right, the playoffs begin today at 1:08 p.m. ET with 12 of the league’s 30 teams swinging to hoist the World Series trophy. Today’s newsletter has everything you need to know before the first pitch — and to help complete your pro baseball playoff bracket challenge. Play ball.

The still-chaotic push for the MLB playoffs — and toward our men’s pro baseball bracket challenge — continues ahead of Sunday’s regular-season finale. That said, a different race is grabbing headlines, with Seattle Mariners superstar Cal Raleigh chasing NY Yankees slugger Aaron Judge’s single-season American League (AL) home run record.

The MLB playoff picture remains chaotic as ever with just five days remaining in the regular season and four spots of 12 still unclaimed. Luckily, there’s no robot needed to make a call on the latest.

It’s here — no, not Justin Bieber’s latest surprise album, we’re talking about the high-stakes series between the American League (AL)–leading Toronto Blue Jays and their divisional foes, the NY Yankees.

The Milwaukee Brewers’ franchise record 14-game win streak was snapped with yesterday’s narrow 3–2 extra inning loss to the Cincinnati Reds, but the Brew Crew’s rise to the top of the MLB standings is still the talk of the diamond.

When the Little League World Series (LLWS), an annual tournament featuring the top 10- to 12-year-old baseball players from around the world, swings into action from hallowed Williamsport, Pennsylvania, today, you’ll see a girl take the diamond for just the 24th time in the tourney’s 78 years.

Former college softball player and longtime umpire Jen Pawol made history over the weekend as the first woman to ump a regular-season MLB game, the latest milestone amid a surge of women taking the diamond by storm. Talk about stepping up to the plate.

Forget runnin’ out of time, yesterday’s 6 p.m. ET MLB trade deadline has come and gone, and the American League-best Toronto Blue Jays made moves in spades with hopes of playing playoff baseball deep into October.

One home run–filled and historic All-Star break later, the second half of an already epic MLB season gets underway today. From the hottest divisions to the players swinging for the record books, here are the questions on our mind as the sprint to the playoffs begins.

The high-flying event is the highlight of the league’s All-Star break, and this year’s edition features some of the game’s biggest names swinging for glory. Grab a hot dog and scroll on before the balls are going, going, gone.

The calendar turned to spring last Thursday, but today marks the unofficial start of the rebirth season: MLB Opening Day. From record-setting contracts to offseason moves to the top teams to watch, here’s everything you need to know before the first pitch is thrown. Let’s play ball.

The Juan Soto sweepstakes came to an end on the first day of MLB’s Winter Meetings as the superstar outfielder signed a record-breaking $765M, 15-year deal with the NY Mets yesterday, trading his Pinstripes for orange and blue.