Analyzing MLB Wild Card postseason matchups
Bob Nightengale breaks down each of the four Wild Card matchups to kick off the 2025 MLB postseason.
The Major League Baseball playoffs open with the best-of-three Wild Card Series, which features the New York Yankees against the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers starting their title defense against the Cincinnati Reds.
The first round is a quadruple header, three-game series — Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday at the home of the higher-seeded team, with the winners advancing to face the top two seeds from each league.
Everything starts Tuesday and will be on ESPN.
American League
Winner plays Seattle
Schedule and projected starters
Game 1: Detroit (Tarik Skubal) at Cleveland (Gavin Williams), 11:08 a.m. Tuesday, ESPN
Game 2: Detroit (Jack Flaherty) vs. Cleveland (Tanner Bibee), 11:08 a.m. Wednesday, ESPN
Game 3 if necessary: Detroit (Casey Mize) at Cleveland (Slade Cecconi) Thursday, 11:08 a.m., ESPN
Odds: Detroit Tigers (-110), Cleveland Guardians (-110)
Winner plays Toronto
Schedule and projected starters
Game 1: Boston (Garrett Crochet) at New York Yankees (Max Fried), 4:08 p.m. Tuesday, ESPN
Game 2: Boston (Brayan Bello) at New York Yankees (Carlos Rodón), 4:08 p.m. Wednesday, ESPN
Game 3 if necessary: Boston (TBD) at New York Yankees (Cam Schlittler), 4:08 p.m. Thursday, ESPN
Odds: Boston Red Sox (+140), New York Yankees (-165)
National League
Winner plays Philadelphia
Schedule and projected starters
Game 1: Cincinnati (Hunter Greene) at Los Angeles Dodgers (Blake Snell), 7:08 p.m. Tuesday, ESPN
Game 2: Cincinnati (Nick Lodolo) at Los Angeles Dodgers (Yoshinobu Yamamoto), 7:08 p.m. Wednesday, ESPN
Game 3, if necessary: Cincinnati (Andrew Abbott) at Los Angeles Dodgers (Shohei Ohtani), 7:08 p.m. Thursday, ESPN
Odds: Cincinnati Reds (+200), Los Angeles Dodgers (-250)
Winner plays Milwaukee
Schedule and projected starters
Game 1: San Diego (Nick Pivetta) at Chicago Cubs (Shota Imanaga), 1:08 p.m. Tuesday, ABC
Game 2: San Diego (Dylan Cease) at Chicago Cubs (Matthew Boyd), 1:08 p.m. Wednesday, ABC
Game 3 if necessary: San Diego (Yu Darvish) vs. Chicago Cubs (Jameson Taillon), 1:08 p.m. Thursday, ABC
Odds: San Diego Padres (+105), Chicago Cubs (-125)
Did the Texas Rangers make the playoffs?
No. They were eliminated in the final two weeks and finished 81-81, their first .500 record in club history. The team parted ways with manager Bruce Bochy, the all-time wins leader among active managers.
Did the Houston Astros make the playoffs?
No. They were eliminated on the final weekend.
How many runs were scored in the 2024 playoffs?
271 runs were scored in the 23rd series.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.