Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know. Today's edition is brought to you by David Adler. We have our Wild Card Series predictions, the biggest playoff ABS storylines and a guide to every Game 1 today.
The wait is over. It's time for playoff baseball. Let's make some picks.
The four Wild Card Series start today -- White Sox vs. Astros and Yankees vs. Red Sox in the American League, Phillies vs. Braves and Cubs vs. Padres in the National League.
We asked our MLB.com experts to make their predictions for the first round of the postseason. Here's what they came up with for each Wild Card Series.
WHITE SOX AT ASTROS
The pick: Astros
The White Sox are one of MLB's best stories, going from 121 losses just two years ago to the playoffs today. But in the end we picked the Astros -- even though they're the first division winner ever to not finish over .500 -- for their veteran core, for their postseason experience … and for having the best player in the series in MVP favorite Yordan Alvarez.
RED SOX AT YANKEES
The pick: Yankees
Aaron Judge is out for the Wild Card Series. But we're still taking the Bronx Bombers in this rivalry rematch even without their captain and reigning MVP. Why? Starting pitching. Cy Young favorite Cam Schlittler, Max Fried and Gerrit Cole are a fearsome trio to have to face in a best-of-three series. We think New York pulls it out over Boston for a second straight year.
PHILLIES AT BRAVES
The pick: Braves
There's a little bit of a momentum factor in this showdown of NL East rivals: The Phillies barely got into the playoffs on the last day of the season (and had to burn Zack Wheeler to do it). We also like the Braves' deep lineup, with Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson, Michael Harris II and Drake Baldwin, vs. the Phillies' top-heavy order that relies a lot on Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper.
CUBS AT PADRES
The pick: Padres
In another Wild Card rematch (Chicago won the 2025 series in three), both teams have a strong case. The Cubs were the best hitting team and the best fielding team in the Majors this season, and they have the runaway NL MVP favorite, Pete Crow-Armstrong. And yet, our experts picked the Padres. Why? Home-field advantage for one. Last year's series was at Wrigley; this one is at Petco Park, where San Diego went 51-30 this season. The Padres are also red-hot entering the playoffs, winning 18 of their final 22 games. And then there's the bullpen -- the best in baseball, led by the dominant Mason Miller.
You still have time to make your own picks with the 2026 Postseason Bracket Challenge. Fill out your bracket here before the first game starts to compete to win $10,000 >>
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YOUR GUIDE TO ABS IN THE WILD CARD SERIES |
This is the first postseason under the new ABS challenge system, where players can challenge ball and strike calls.
Like with anything new, all eyes are going to be on the ABS challenges in the playoffs -- where every call is being magnified and challenges will have the potential to change the course of a playoff game, if not an entire series.
So we took a look at the biggest ABS storylines to watch in every Wild Card Series. Here's one for each NL and AL matchup.
1) Phillies-Braves: Bryce Harper LOVES to challenge.
Harper sees precious few pitches in the strike zone as it is. He's not trying to let those go by -- so if a strike gets called against him that he doesn't think should be, you can bet he's challenging. Harper is one of the most aggressive challengers in the Majors, pulling the trigger on 17% of all the challengeable pitches he sees. He doesn't win all the time -- he's 21-for-47 -- but he wins on volume. Those 47 challenges … and those 21 successful challenges … are both second most of any hitter.
2) Cubs-Padres: The Cubs win their challenges the most often of any playoff team.
Chicago has won 59% of its challenges this season, a top-five mark in the Majors and the best of any 2026 playoff team. Their batters and catchers are great at successfully overturning calls -- the Cubs rank behind only the Phillies in Statcast's "Overturns vs. Expected" metric. Carson Kelly's 69% challenge win rate is tops for any catcher who challenged as many calls as he did in the regular season, while the disciplined Seiya Suzuki (12-5 on challenges) and Alex Bregman (15 challenges won) are among the Cubs' best hitters.
3) White Sox-Astros: Jose Altuve is both aggressive AND good.
Altuve, with his small strike zone that's difficult to call, has challenged 37 times this season, third most of any hitter (right behind Harper). And he's smart with his aggressiveness. Altuve wins 57% of his challenges even while challenging so much. His 21 wins are tied for second most with Harper, and he got there on 10 fewer challenges. Altuve has taken six strikeouts off the board against him, which is a lot. He makes his challenges count.
4) Red Sox-Yankees: Adley is a terrific challenging catcher.
Boston's big-ticket Trade Deadline acquisition, Adley Rutschman, has had his biggest impact defensively -- and that extends to challenging calls. Rutschman is 46-22 on challenges this season, a 68% win rate -- and he's 24-10 (71%) since he got to Boston. Red Sox catchers have been very good in particular at creating strikeouts via successful challenges -- their 43 "K flips" are third most of any team, and most of any playoff team. Rutschman is now a big part of that.
See the rest of the ABS storylines to watch in the Wild Card round >>
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Here are the four Wild Card Series openers on tap for today, and the top storyline for each.
Phillies at Braves -- 2 p.m. ET, NBC / Peacock
Starting pitchers: Jesús Luzardo (14-5, 2.86 ERA, 221 K's) vs. Chris Sale (14-9, 2.16 ERA, 200 K's)
Top storyline: Can the Phillies bounce back from their late-season skid? It will be tough against the Cy Young contender Sale and their division rivals, but Philadelphia does have the stars of its own, and this is the team's fifth straight postseason run.
***
White Sox at Astros -- 5 p.m. ET, Peacock / NBCSN
Starting pitchers: Hagen Smith (3-3, 1.29 ERA, 41 K's) vs. AJ Blubaugh (5-3, 3.66 ERA, 94 K's)
Top storyline: Are either of these teams for real? Nobody saw this season coming from the White Sox, and the Astros by record are the weakest division winner ever. One of these lineups has to come alive, Chicago led by Munetaka Murakami and Houston by Yordan Alvarez.
***
Red Sox at Yankees -- 8 p.m. ET, NBC / Peacock
Starting pitchers: Payton Tolle (9-6, 3.03 ERA, 171 K's) vs. Cam Schlittler (14-6, 1.95 ERA, 239 K'S)
Top storyline: Can the Yankees' pitching carry them? Even with no Judge, the Yanks have three aces going, starting with Schlittler in tonight's "slobberknocker" of a matchup.
***
Cubs at Padres -- 10 p.m. ET, Peacock / NBCSN
Starting pitchers: Matthew Boyd (10-5, 3.91 ERA, 96 K's) vs. Michael King (12-10, 3.21 ERA, 159 K's)
Top storyline: Can the Cubs score early and often? If the Padres get into the late innings with a lead, it's Miller Time. So PCA and Chicago's powerhouse lineup need to jump on San Diego.
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VOTE NOW FOR THE ALL-MLB TEAMS |
The 2026 All-MLB Team nominees have been announced, and you can vote now to help decide the top players in the Majors this season.
Fans can vote every day for their 2026 All-MLB choices at MLB.com/allmlb. Voting is open until Friday, Oct. 9, at 2 p.m. ET.
The ballot will also be available in Spanish at MLB.com/todomlb.
The All-MLB Teams include one catcher, first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, shortstop and designated hitter, three outfielders, five starting pitchers and two relief pitchers. The teams are based on performance in the 2026 regular season only.
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