The 2023 MLB playoff race came down to the wire.
While some races have been decided for a while — the Braves and Dodgers have been clear division winners for some time — others, like the race for the AL West and the final NL wild card spots, went into the final week of MLB action to be decided, before the Astros won the division and the Marlins and Diamondbacks earned the final two NL wild cards.
Now, the season-long chase has reached its destination: the MLB postseason. In total, there are 12 teams competing in the playoffs, six in each league, with three wild cards joining the three division winners in the field.
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Looking forward to the start of the playoffs? Here's everything you need to know about the MLB playoffs with the season wrapped up.
When do the MLB playoffs start in 2023?
The MLB playoffs will begin on Oct. 3, with several wild card games. If the World Series goes a full seven games, it can run until Nov. 4.
- Wild Card Series: Oct. 3-5
- Division Series: Oct. 7-14
- Championship Series: Oct. 15-24
- World Series: Oct. 27-Nov. 4
MORE: Expert picks, predictions for 2023 MLB playoff bracket & World Series
MLB playoff bracket
This is how the 2023 playoff field will shape up. The division winners receive the top three seeds, followed by the three wild-card teams. The top two division winners earn byes to the division series.
American League
- Orioles (East champion)
- Astros (West champion)
- Twins (Central champion)
- Rays (Wild card 1)
- Rangers (Wild card 2)
- Blue Jays (Wild card 3)
National League
- Braves (East champion)
- Dodgers (West champion)
- Brewers (Central champion)
- Phillies (Wild card 1)
- Marlins (Wild card 2)
- Diamondbacks (Wild card 3)
AL Wild Card Series (Best of 3)
- No. 3 Twins vs. No. 6 Blue Jays in Minneapolis
- No. 4 Rays vs. No. 5 Rangers in Tampa Bay
NL Wild Card Series (Best of 3)
- No. 3 Brewers vs. No. 6 Diamondbacks in Milwaukee
- No. 4 Phillies vs. No. 5 Marlins in Philadelphia
AL Division Series (Best of 5)
- No. 1 Orioles vs. No. 4 Rays or No. 5 Rangers
- No. 2 Rangers vs. No. 3 Twins or No. 6 Blue Jays
NL Division Series (Best of 5)
- No. 1 Braves vs. No. 4 Phillies or No. 5 Marlins
- No. 2 Dodgers vs. No. 3 Brewers or No. 6 Diamondbacks
MLB playoff schedule 2023
Wild Card Series
| Date | Matchup | Network |
| Oct. 3 | Blue Jays at Twins | ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 |
| Rangers at Rays | ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 | |
| Diamondbacks at Brewers | ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 | |
| Marlins at Phillies | ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 | |
| Oct. 4 | Blue Jays at Twins | ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 |
| Rangers at Rays | ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 | |
| Diamondbacks at Brewers | ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 | |
| Marlins at Phillies | ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 | |
| Oct. 5 | Blue Jays at Twins* | ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 |
| Rangers at Rays* | ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 | |
| Diamondbacks at Brewers* | ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 | |
| Marlins at Phillies* | ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 |
*If necessary
Division Series
| Date | Matchup | Network |
| Oct. 7 | Rays/Rangers at Orioles | Fox or FS1 |
| Blue Jays/Twins at Astros | Fox or FS1 | |
| Phillies/Marlins at Braves | TBS | |
| Brewers/Diamondbacks at Dodgers | TBS | |
| Oct. 8 | Rays/Rangers at Orioles | Fox or FS1 |
| Blue Jays/Twins at Astros | Fox or FS1 | |
| Oct. 9 | Phillies/Marlins at Braves | TBS |
| Brewers/Diamondbacks at Dodgers | TBS | |
| Oct. 10 | Orioles at Rays/Rangers | Fox or FS1 |
| Astros at Blue Jays/Twins | Fox or FS1 | |
| Oct. 11 | Orioles at Rays/Rangers* | Fox or FS1 |
| Astros at Blue Jays/Twins* | Fox or FS1 | |
| Braves at Phillies/Marlins | TBS | |
| Dodgers at Brewers/Diamondbacks | TBS | |
| Oct. 12 | Braves at Phillies/Marlins* | TBS |
| Dodgers at Brewers/Diamondbacks* | TBS | |
| Oct. 13 | Rays/Rangers at Orioles* | Fox or FS1 |
| Blue Jays/Twins at Astros* | Fox or FS1 | |
| Oct. 14 | Phillies/Marlins at Braves | TBS |
| Brewers/Diamondbacks at Dodgers | TBS |
*If necessary
League Championship Series
| Date | Matchup | Network |
| Oct. 15 | AL Lower Seed at AL Higher Seed | Fox or FS1 |
| Oct. 16 | AL Lower Seed at AL Higher Seed | Fox or FS1 |
| NL Lower Seed at NL Higher Seed | TBS | |
| Oct. 17 | NL Lower Seed at NL Higher Seed | TBS |
| Oct. 18 | AL Higher Seed at AL Lower Seed | Fox or FS1 |
| Oct. 19 | AL Higher Seed at AL Lower Seed | Fox or FS1 |
| NL Higher Seed at NL Lower Seed | TBS | |
| Oct. 20 | AL Higher Seed at AL Lower Seed* | Fox or FS1 |
| NL Higher Seed at NL Lower Seed* | TBS | |
| Oct. 21 | NL Higher Seed at NL Lower Seed* | TBS |
| Oct. 22 | AL Lower Seed at AL Higher Seed* | Fox or FS1 |
| Oct. 23 | AL Lower Seed at AL Higher Seed* | Fox or FS1 |
| NL Lower Seed at NL Higher Seed* | TBS | |
| Oct. 24 | NL Lower Seed at NL Higher Seed* | TBS |
*If necessary
World Series
| Date | Matchup | Network |
| Oct. 27 | League Champ 2 at League Champ 1 | Fox |
| Oct. 28 | League Champ 2 at League Champ 1 | Fox |
| Oct. 30 | League Champ 1 at League Champ 2 | Fox |
| Oct. 31 | League Champ 1 at League Champ 2 | Fox |
| Nov. 1 | League Champ 1 at League Champ 2* | Fox |
| Nov. 3 | League Champ 2 at League Champ 1* | Fox |
| Nov. 4 | League Champ 2 at League Champ 1* | Fox |
*If necessary
How do MLB playoffs work?
The playoff structure in the league is as follows:
- No. 1 seed: Best league record
- No. 2 seed: Second-best division winner
- No. 3 seed: Third-best division winner
- No. 4 seed: Best record among non-division winners
- No. 5 seed: Second-best record among non-division winners
- No. 6 seed: Third-best record among non-division winners
The top seeds in each league receive byes for the wild-card round and wait to host the two division series matchups. The No. 3 seed will host the No. 6 seed in a best-of-three series, while the No. 4 seed will host the No. 5 seed. All games will be played at the higher seed.
In the divisional round, the No. 1 seed will play the winner of the series between the No. 4 team and No. 5 team. The No. 2 seed will play either the No. 3 or No. 6 seed. Those divisional matchups will be best-of-five series, with the first two games played at the higher seed, the next two played at the lower seed and the final game played at the higher seed.
The Division Series winners will meet in a best-of-seven League Championship Series, with the higher seed hosting Games 1, 2, 6 and 7, and the lower seed hosting Games 3, 4 and 5. The winners of the League Championship Series will then head to the World Series with the same hosting format, with the seeding based on regular-season records.
Regular-season tiebreakers
MLB eliminated Game 163s under its revised playoff format, meaning the league will turn to a tie-breaking system to resolve any teams with even records at the end of the year. Here's how that tiebreaker shakes up:
- Head-to-head record
- Intradivision record
- Interdivision record
- Last half of intraleague games
- Last half of intraleague games plus one
