Playoff baseball is back. The gap since the last postseason game stretched 335 days—exactly 11 months—making Tuesday's Wild Card Series games the long-awaited return to October baseball.
The postseason matters most to teams fighting for survival. The Phillies, despite a 5-10 stretch down the stretch that nearly cost them their playoff berth, reached the postseason for a fifth consecutive year. A 7-3 victory on the final day at Citizens Bank Park kept their season alive. The White Sox and Astros, meanwhile, finished with the 12th- and 14th-most wins in the Majors, yet both earned playoff spots in an unusual AL season where the three best teams clustered in the East while Central and West teams scrambled for spots. Houston became the first division winner to not finish above .500 since divisions began in 1969.
Tuesday features four games across both leagues. The Phillies face the Braves at 2 p.m. ET with Jesús Luzardo starting for Philadelphia and Chris Sale taking the mound for Atlanta. The White Sox play the Astros at 5 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCSN. Both lineups feature established rosters, though neither team enters the series particularly hot—the White Sox and Astros both finished September under .500.
In roughly a month, the 2026 World Series champion will be crowned. But first comes the full gauntlet of playoff games, starting Tuesday.