It’s October, and baseball fans everywhere know what that means: Major League Baseball has entered another postseason that’s bound to be filled with excitement and adversity on the diamond as the league’s best teams go head-to-head in the hunt for a World Series title.
You definitely will not want to miss a swing, strike, slide or homer during the 2024 MLB postseason. Here’s our guide to catching all of the action in baseball stadiums across North America and from the comfort of your couch.
Looking for the LA Dodgers vs. New York Yankees Schedule and Watch Guide? Find it right here: 2024 World Series TV Schedule
WHEN DID THE 2024 MLB PLAYOFFS START?
The MLB playoffs started on September 29, 2024, and they’re expected to conclude between October 29 and November 2.
Ready for the MLB playoffs? Get access to the most local MLB games plus national, regional and local sports channels with DIRECTV. Call it a grand slam. Get started now.
HOW TO WATCH THE MLB PLAYOFFS
The 2024 MLB playoffs and subsequent World Series will be available to watch on a few different TV channels. The networks broadcasting the games, depending on the league and series, include:
- Regional Sports Lineup: Check local listings
- ABC: Find your ABC affiliate channel
- FOX: Find your FOX affiliate channel
- FOX Sports 1 (FS1): DIRECTV 219
- MLB Network®: DIRECTV 213
- ESPN: DIRECTV 206
- ESPN 2: DIRECTV 209
- TBS: DIRECTV 247
- TruTV: DIRECTV 246
More specifically, Wild Card Series games will air across ABC, ESPN or ESPN2. All American League matchups will be live on TBS or truTV, as well as Max. For National League games, fans can tune into FOX or FS1. The season will end with the World Series airing on FOX.
WHAT TEAMS ARE IN THE 2024 MLB PLAYOFFS?
The 2024 MLB regular season is in the books, and the playoff bracket is set. Here are the teams that made it into the MLB playoffs this season. Seeds 1-3 are division winners, while seed 4-6 are wild card teams.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
- New York Yankees (94-68)
- Cleveland Guardians (92-69)
- Houston Astros (88-73)
- Baltimore Orioles (91-71)
- Kansas City Royals (86-76)
- Detroit Tigers (86-76)
NATIONAL LEAGUE
- Los Angeles Dodgers (98-64)
- Philadelphia Phillies (95-67)
- Milwaukee Brewers (93-79)
- San Diego Padres (93-69)
- Atlanta Braves (89-73)
- New York Mets (89-73)
MLB PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE 2024
Anything can happen in the MLB postseason. When looking at the schedule below, remember that not all matchups will play all the games in their series. For instance, if a team wins the first two games in the Wild Card Series, the series will end there, rather than playing out the third game.
Here’s a look at the MLB postseason schedule (*If necessary):
WILD CARD SERIES – Best of Three (Oct 1-3)
First, the wild card teams from either league will compete in a three-game series. These games will be available either on ABC, ESPN or ESPN2 on DIRECTV.
ALWC Winners: Detroit Tigers (2-0) & Kansas City Royals (2-0)
NLWC Winners: New York Mets (2-1) & San Diego Padres (2-0)
Division Series – Best of Five (Oct 5-12)
Next, the Division Series, which will be live on TBS, truTV, FOX or FS1.
American League
- Game 1: Detroit Tigers (0) vs. Cleveland Guardians (7)
- Game 1: Kansas City Royals (5) vs. New York Yankees (6)
- Game 2: Detroit Tigers (3) vs. Cleveland Guardians (0)
- Game 2: Kansas City Royals (4) vs. New York Yankees (2)
- Game 3: Detroit Tigers (3) vs. Cleveland Guardians (0)
- Game 3: Kansas City Royals (2) vs. New York Yankees (3)
- Game 4*: Detroit Tigers (4) vs. Cleveland Guardians (5)
- Game 4*: Kansas City Royals (1) vs. New York Yankees (3)
- Game 5*: Detroit Tigers (3) vs. Cleveland Guardians (7)
ALDS Winners: Cleveland Guardians (3-2) & New York Yankees (3-1)
National League
- Game 1: New York Mets (6) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (2)
- Game 1: San Diego Padres (5) vs. LA Dodgers (7)
- Game 2: New York Mets (6) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (7)
- Game 2: San Diego Padres (10) vs. LA Dodgers (2)
- Game 3: New York Mets (7) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (2)
- Game 3: San Diego Padres (6) vs. LA Dodgers (5)
- Game 4*: New York Mets (4) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (1)
- Game 4*: San Diego Padres (0) vs. LA Dodgers (8)
- Game 5*: San Diego Padres (0) vs. LA Dodgers (2)
NLDS Winners: New York Mets (3-1) & LA Dodgers (3-2)
League Championship Series – Best of Seven
Same goes for the League Championship Series.
American League
- Game 1: Mon, Oct. 14 – Cleveland Guardians (2) vs. New York Yankees (5)
- Game 2: Tues, Oct. 15 – Cleveland Guardians (3) vs. New York Yankees (6)
- Game 3: Thurs, Oct. 17 – Cleveland Guardians (7) vs. New York Yankees (5)
- Game 4: Fri, Oct. 18 – Cleveland Guardians (6) vs. New York Yankees (8)
- Game 5*: Sat, Oct. 19 – Cleveland Guardians (2) vs. New York Yankees (5)
New York Yankees win ALCS 4-1.
National League
- Game 1: Sunday, October 13 – New York Mets (0) vs. LA Dodgers (9)
- Game 2: Monday, October 14 – New York Mets (7) vs. LA Dodgers (3)
- Game 3: Wednesday, October 16 – New York Mets (0) vs. LA Dodgers (8)
- Game 4: Thursday, October 17 – New York Mets (2) vs. LA Dodgers (10)
- Game 5: Friday, October 18 – New York Mets (12) vs. LA Dodgers (6)
- Game 6: Sunday, October 20* – New York Mets (5) vs. LA Dodgers (10)
Los Angeles Dodgers win NLCS 4-2.
World Series – Best of Seven
New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
- Game 1: Friday, October 25
- Game 2: Saturday, October 26
- Game 3: Monday, October 28
- Game 4: Tuesday, October 29
- Game 5: Wednesday, October 30*
- Game 6: Friday, November 1*
- Game 7: Saturday, November 2*
Check out our full 2024 World Series Watch Guide right here!
WHO WON THE 2023 WORLD SERIES?
The Texas Rangers won the 2023 World Series over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Neither the Diamondbacks nor the Rangers made it to the playoffs this season.
HOW DO THE MLB PLAYOFFS WORK?
The playoffs immediately follow the conclusion of the MLB regular season’s 162 games. The top 12 teams move on to the MLB playoffs — six from the American League and six from the National League. The playoffs are contested over four rounds of series between the qualifying teams, starting with the Wild Card Series and ending with the World Series.
Teams are seeded based on their record, with the two teams with the best records in their respective leagues getting the top spot and all of the benefits that come along with it: a Wild Card bye week and an automatic ticket to the Division Series.
The 2- and 3-seeds are awarded to the second and third best teams, while the other three teams duke it out in the Wild Card round, a best-of-three series, for their seeding. The winner of the 4- versus 5-seed series plays the 1-seed in the Division Round, while the winner of the 3- versus 6-seed series faces the 2-seed.
After the first three rounds in the MLB playoffs are over, the prevailing teams from each league match up against each other in the final seven-game series, the one and only World Series.
WATCH THE MLB POSTSEASON WITH DIRECTV
The World Series will be here before you know it, and you don’t want to miss it. And if you don’t want to miss the MLB playoff games leading up to the World Series, you can make sure you catch them all with a subscription to DIRECTV. With the most local MLB games, plus MLB Strike Zone™ and MLB Network®, you’ll have no problem keeping your head in the game.
And with DIRECTV Sports Pack, you can watch even more professional sports live with over 40 specialty sports networks, including NFL Network, NFL RedZone from NFL Network, NBA TV and more.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do the MLB playoffs happen?
The MLB postseason starts on September 29, 2024, and will go until the final series, the World Series, which will begin in the last week of October.
How can I watch MLB playoff games?
Fans can watch the MLB playoffs in 2024 across a number of different channels. For the Wild Card Series, fans can watch on ABC or ESPN. American League games will then be broadcast on TBS or truTV, as well as Max, while National League games are broadcast on FOX or FS1. The World Series will be live on FOX.
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