Full schedule, format, viewing guide and more

And then there were eight. The Wild Card round is just around the corner and brings with it lots of surprises. Now it’s time to get to work as the final four in the NL and AL face off – including matchups with some of the biggest names and rivals in the sport. Who will advance and get one step closer to the World Series? There’s only one way to find out.

Below is the full divisional round schedule with start times and TV channels.

*If necessary

If the Dodgers-Padres series ends after Game 3, every game on Wednesday, October 9th will be moved back one hour: Guardians-Tigers move to 4:00 p.m. ET, Phillies-Mets move to 6:00 p.m ET and Yankees-Royals at 8 p.m. ET. If there is only one game on Thursday, Friday or Saturday, that game will take place at 8:00 p.m. ET, regardless of which series it is.

Both AL series will air on TBS, with the exception of a possible fourth game between the Guardians and Tigers, which would air on TNT. The two NL series will air on either FOX or FS1. Fans without cable have several streaming options available, including Fubo, DirecTV Stream, Hulu + Live TV, and Sling. Games can also be streamed on MLB.tv (subscription required), and all ALDS games are streamed on Max.

On the American League side, it’s an invasion of the AL Central as three teams from the Central Division advanced to the Divisional Round. The headliner is a rematch of one of baseball’s fiercest rivalries, with Bobby Witt Jr. leading the surging Kansas City Royals against Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and the New York Yankees. On the other side of the bracket, Tarik Skubal and the Cinderella Detroit Tigers look to continue their magical run against Emmanuel Clase and the lights-out Cleveland Guardians bullpen.

Things are even more exciting in the Netherlands, where there are two bitter divisional rivalries in the postseason. The New York Mets have a distinct Team Destiny vibe going on right now, but Bryce Harper and the Phillies are looking to finally break through after two years of postseason heartbreak. The Padres and Dodgers are no strangers to meeting in the postseason, and come October we’ll finally see what Shohei Ohtani can do.

Below are the start times for each Divisional Round game, including local start times for non-Eastern Time fan bases.

Phillies-Mets

*If necessary

Dodgers Padres

*If necessary

Yankees Royals

*If necessary

Guardian Tiger

*If necessary

Guardian Tiger

Tyler Horton will nominally start the first game for Detroit, but if you’ve paid any attention to the Tigers so far this year, you know that AJ Hinch will pitch well in all nine innings. The only exception is star Tarik Skubal, who is scheduled to start in Game 2. On the other hand, Tanner Bibee will get the ball for Game 1, while Matthew Boyd will start in Game 2 and Gavin Williams is the most likely option for Game 3.

Yankees Royals

These two rotations are fixed relative to each other. Gerrit Cole will play for New York in Game 1, followed by Carlos Rodon in Game 2 and probably Luis Gil in Game 3. Cole Ragans pitched in Game 1 of Kansas City’s Wild Card series against the Orioles, which means he will will not be able to pitch until Game 2 of the ALDS, while Michael Wacha gets the nod in Game 1. Seth Lugo will follow in Game 3.

Phillies-Mets

There’s a bit of an upheaval for Rob Thomson’s team as Zack Wheeler will start Game 1, but Cristopher Sanchez, not Aaron Nola, will start Game 2. Nola will pitch Game 3 in New York as Sanchez has far better numbers at home than on the road. For the Mets, Kodai Senga returns after a month-long injury layoff and will at least serve as the opener for Game 1. Luis Severino will follow in Game 2, and Sean Manaea will likely follow him in Game 3.

Dodgers Padres

Los Angeles will field trade acquisition Jack Flaherty in Game 1, followed by Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 2 and likely Walker Buehler in Game 3. San Diego had to rearrange things with Joe Musgrove’s injury; Dylan Cease will play in Game 1, followed by Michael King in Game 2 and most likely Yu Darvish in Game 3.