The calendar does not yet read October, but playoff baseball has arrived.
Twelve teams have advanced to the MLB postseason, and four of those 12 teams have the luxury of a bye through the Wild Card round. The other eight squads will be battling it out in best-of-three series’ that begin on Tuesday.
Here is a betting glance at each Wild Card series.
Philadelphia Phillies at Atlanta Braves
Game 1: 2 p.m. ET Tuesday (NBC)
One of the top rivalries in baseball will be on display this week, starting Tuesday afternoon in Atlanta.
After one year of missing the postseason, the Braves are back in the dance—but they face a Phillies franchise that eliminated them in both 2022 and 2023. In fact, Atlanta has never beaten its NL East rivals in a playoff series.
The Braves are favored to end that ignominious streak this week as they are -140 at Fanatics Sportsbook to win the series. The most likely scenario is for the Braves to win, 2-0, as it has a price of +175.
The Braves went 9-4 against the Phillies in the regular season.
Chicago White Sox at Houston Astros
Game 1: 5 p.m. ET Tuesday (Peacock/NBCSN)
There is also playoff history between the White Sox and Astros as the two teams met in the 2005 World Series, with Chicago prevailing in a sweep. A more recent postseason matchup between the two franchises took place in the 2021 ALDS when the Astros toppled the White Sox 3 games to 1.
The Astros won the 2026 regular season series over the White Sox, 5-2.
Houston is favored to win this Wild Card series, with a price of -145 at Fanatics. The most likely outcome in the series is Astros in 2 (+180). White Sox to win in 2 is +400, and White Sox to win in 3 is +300.
Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees
Game 1: 8 p.m. ET Tuesday (NBC)
Here we are again.
Baseball’s biggest rivalry is back on the big stage of the postseason.
This will be the seventh time the Red Sox and Yankees have met in the playoffs. New York took the most recent playoff meeting as it beat Boston 2 games to 1 just one year ago in this same round.
The Yankees took the 2026 regular-season series against the Sox, 7-6.
A major storyline entering the series is the health of Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, who has not played since September 16 due to a calf injury. As of Monday afternoon, Judge is leaning towards playing.
The Yankees are -170 at Fanatics to beat the Red Sox in the series. The most likely outcome is Yankees in 2 (+175). The most unlikely outcome is Red Sox in 2 (+400).
Chicago Cubs at San Diego Padres
Game 1: 10 p.m. ET, Tuesday (Peacock/NBCSN)
The Cubs and Padres also met just one year ago in this same round. Chicago narrowly beat San Diego, winning 2 games to 1. The two teams were separated by a single run across all three games. The location of this series flips, as last year’s postseason series was held at Wrigley Field and this year’s series will be held at Petco Park.
The Cubs owned the Padres during the 2026 regular season as Chicago won the season-series, 5-1.
This is the biggest coin flip of a series entering the 2026 postseason as San Diego is -115 to win at Fanatics, and Chicago is -105.
Padres in 2 and Padres in 3 both have a price of +250. Cubs in 2 and Cubs in 3 both have a price of +275.
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