Rays win AL East, but are Yankees still favorites without Judge?
Bob Nightengale examines where the Yankees stand in the AL pecking order after the Rays claim the East and Aaron Judge is sidelined.
Sports Seriously
Major League Baseball’s 2026 regular season has been completed, a 162-game grind over six months that led us here to the postseason.
There were two playoff spots still up for grabs in Game 162, with the Philadelphia Phillies (NL wild card) and Houston Astros (AL West) taking care of business to punch their tickets to the wild card series, which begin on Tuesday, Sept. 29.
In the best-of-three American League wild card series, the New York Yankees host the Boston Red Sox while the Astros face the Chicago White Sox in Houston. In the National League, the Phillies visit the Braves in an NL East rivalry series while the San Diego Padres host the Chicago Cubs.
The winners advance to the division series, which begin on Saturday, Oct. 3.
Here’s a final look at the MLB standings and bracket:
American League
- Byes: Tampa Bay Rays (1), Cleveland Guardians (2)
- Wild card series:
- White Sox* (6) at Astros (3) – Winner vs. Guardians
- Red Sox* (5) at Yankees* (4) – Winner vs. Rays
National League
Top three teams qualify
- *San Diego Padres (91-71)
- *Chicago Cubs (89-73)
- *Philadelphia Phillies (88-74)
Top three teams qualify
- *New York Yankees (93-68) +10 games
- *Boston Red Sox (87-75) +4 games
- *Chicago White Sox (84-78)
- Tampa Bay Rays (98-64) – winners of AL East
- Cleveland Guardians (85-77) – winners of AL Central
- Houston Astros (81-81) – winners of AL West
- Atlanta Braves (94-68) – winners of NL East, locked into No. 3 seed
- Milwaukee Brewers (103-59) − winners of NL Central, No. 1 seed throughout playoffs
- Los Angeles Dodgers (100-62) – winners of NL West, locked into No. 2 seed
MLB’s 2026 postseason begins on Tuesday, Sept. 29 with a quadruple-header featuring all four wild card series.
Tuesday, Sept. 29
- NL Game 1: Phillies at Braves – buy tickets – 2 p.m. ET
- AL Game 1: White Sox at Astros – buy tickets – 5 p.m. ET
- AL Game 1: Red Sox at Yankees – buy tickets – 8 p.m. ET
- NL Game 1: Cubs at Padres – buy tickets – 10 p.m. ET
Wednesday, Sept. 30
- NL Game 2: Phillies at Braves – buy tickets – 2 p.m. ET
- AL Game 2: White Sox at Astros – buy tickets – 5 p.m. ET
- AL Game 2: Red Sox at Yankees – buy tickets – 8 p.m. ET
- NL Game 2: Cubs at Padres – buy tickets – 10 p.m. ET
Thursday, Oct. 1 (*if necessary)
Times subject to change if series early
- NL Game 3: Phillies at Braves – buy tickets – 2 p.m. ET
- AL Game 3: White Sox at Astros – buy tickets – 5 p.m. ET
- AL Game 3: Red Sox at Yankees – buy tickets – 8 p.m. ET
- NL Game 3: Cubs at Padres – buy tickets – 10 p.m. ET
