The New York Yankees, San Diego Padres and Chicago White Sox have advanced in the 2026 Major League Baseball playoffs, with all four Wild Card Series now underway, CBS Sports reported.
The three teams moved on from the opening round of the expanded 12-team postseason field, which began with eight clubs — four in each league — playing best-of-three Wild Card Series at the higher seed's home ballpark. The winners join the top two division winners in each league, who earned byes, in the Division Series.
The Wild Card round is the first hurdle of a bracket that runs through late October, when the World Series champion is crowned. Under the format adopted in 2022, the No. 3, No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 seeds in each league meet in the Wild Card Series, with the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds waiting in the Division Series.
That structure puts a premium on the regular season: the two best division winners in each league skip the Wild Card round entirely and open the Division Series at home with their rotation lined up. The Wild Card winners, by contrast, must survive a short series before advancing.
For the Yankees, the result extends a run of recent postseason appearances that has become routine in the Bronx. The Padres' advance keeps San Diego in the October mix after a strong regular season in the National League West. The White Sox, one of the American League's most storied franchises, moved on from a Wild Card Series that few outside Chicago expected them to reach.
All four Wild Card Series were in progress as of the latest update, meaning the full bracket picture was still taking shape. Each series is a best-of-three, so a single loss can put a team on the brink of elimination.
The Division Series follows the Wild Card round, with the League Championship Series and World Series scheduled to close out the postseason calendar. Broadcast and streaming assignments for each round are handled by the league's national television partners.
For fans, the immediate consequence is a compressed schedule: Wild Card games are played on consecutive days, with travel only if a series goes the full three games, and the higher seed hosts every game of the round.
Teams that advanced will now wait to learn their Division Series opponents, which depend on the remaining Wild Card results in both leagues. The bracket, scores and viewing information are updated as games conclude.
