With anticipation building, Major League Baseball has revealed its highly awaited 2024 playoff schedule. The playoffs will commence on October 1 with the Wild Card Series, setting the stage for an electrifying month of baseball.
Wild Card Series Set to Ignite the Postseason
In this opening round, eight teams will vie for advancement in a best-of-three format. Each league’s No. 3 and No. 4 seeds will host the No. 6 and No. 5 teams, respectively. The New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves secured the last two postseason spots, setting up thrilling matchups. The Mets are slated to travel to Milwaukee to take on the Brewers, while the Braves will head west to face the Padres.
Adding to the excitement, the Baltimore Orioles will host the Kansas City Royals in another Wild Card showdown. Meanwhile, the Houston Astros will clash with the Detroit Tigers in a matchup that promises to showcase intense competition.
Games are tightly scheduled: Game 1 for all Wild Card Series kicks off on October 1, followed by Game 2 on October 2. If any series require a decisive third game, it will take place on October 3, ensuring that no team can rest until their spot in the next round is secured.
League Division Series Awaits Wild Card Victors
The League Division Series (LDS) will kick off on October 5, with the elite teams that earned byes entering the fray. The Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, and Cleveland Guardians all secured direct entry to this round, heightening the stakes early.
On October 5, fans will witness the Guardians and Yankees play Game 1 of their series, while the Phillies and Dodgers begin their quests for the championship. Game 2 for the Phillies and Dodgers follows quickly on October 6, with the Guardians and Yankees continuing their contests on October 7. The existence of potential Game 5s adds further suspense, potentially stretching the series to October 11 and 12 for the National and American League Divisions, respectively.
League Championship Series to Showcase the Best of the Best
The action heats up even more with the League Championship Series (LCS) beginning on October 13 for the National League. The American League will follow a day later, starting their LCS on October 14. Game 2 for the NLCS is slated for October 14, while the ALCS’s second game is the next day, October 15.
If either series extends to the full seven games, baseball fans could see the NLCS wrap up on October 21 and the ALCS conclude by October 22. These potential matchups promise to offer some of the most intense and competitive baseball of the season.
The Grand Finale: The World Series
All roads lead to the World Series, with a tentative start date set for October 25. However, there's a possibility that if both the ALCS and NLCS conclude in five games or fewer, the World Series could begin earlier, on October 22.
Game 2 of the World Series is on the docket for October 26, with subsequent games scheduled for October 28 and October 29. Should the series go the full distance, Game 6 will be played on November 1, and the winner-takes-all Game 7 will be on November 2. This structure ensures that the World Series will be a fitting climax to a month of high-stakes baseball.
The MLB postseason is set to deliver unparalleled excitement, featuring epic matchups, potential upsets, and the crowning of the next World Series champion. Fans worldwide are eagerly awaiting these contests, each game a new chapter in the storied history of Major League Baseball’s playoff saga.