MLB Playoff Bracket 2020: Odds, Start Times, Dates, Live Stream and TV Schedule

The 60-game sprint has concluded, and the 2020 MLB playoff bracket is officially set.

Sunday's games offered a number of teams the opportunity to improve their seeding or make a final playoff statement. But the results were somewhat anticlimactic.

The Chicago White Sox could have won the AL Central with the Minnesota Twins losing to the Cincinnati Reds, but the White Sox were blown out by the crosstown rival Cubs.

That loss would cost Chicago, as the Cleveland Indians beat the Pittsburgh Pirates to jump to the No. 4 seed in the American League, while the White Sox slipped to the No. 7 seed. The Oakland Athletics also leapfrogged the Twins for the No. 2 seed with a win over the Seattle Mariners.

In the National League, the Milwaukee Brewers still managed to snag the final playoff spot despite losing to the St. Louis Cardinals. The San Francisco lost their last three games to the San Diego Padres, tumbling out of the race as Milwaukee owned the tiebreaker. 

It should be quite the mad dash to the Fall Classic. The journey for each team begins Tuesday with the best-of-three wild-card round. Here is the schedule for the start of the wild-card round, as well as what to expect from the early matchups.

World Series Odds

Los Angeles Dodgers (+350)

New York Yankees (+600)

Tampa Bay Rays (+600)

Oakland Athletics (+1000)

San Diego Padres (+1000)

Atlanta Braves (+1100)

Minnesota Twins (+1400)

Chicago Cubs (+1500)

Chicago White Sox (+1500)

Cleveland (+1500)

Houston Astros (+2500)

Cincinnati Reds (+3000)

Miami Marlins (+3300)

Milwaukee Brewers (+3300)

St. Louis Cardinals (+3300)

Toronto Blue Jays (+3500)

Odds via DraftKings

Wild Card Schedule and TV Information   

(Schedule via MLB.com, all times EST)  

Tuesday, Sept. 29   

Astros at Twins, 2 p.m., ABC   

White Sox at A's, 3 p.m., ESPN,   

Blue Jays at Rays, 5 p.m. (TBS)   

Yankees at Indians, 7 p.m. (ESPN)

Wednesday, Sept. 30   

Reds at Braves, 12 p.m., ESPN   

Astros at Twins, 1 p.m., ESPN2   

Marlins at Cubs, 2 p.m., ABC   

White Sox at A's, 3 p.m., ESPN   

Blue Jays at Rays, 4 p.m., TBS   

Cardinals at Padres, 5 p.m., ESPN2   

Yankees at Indians, 7 p.m. (ESPN)   

Brewers at Dodgers, 10 p.m. (ESPN)

Thursday, Oct. 1   

Blue Jays at Rays (if necessary), TBD, TBS   

White Sox at A's (if necessary), TBD, ESPN Networks   

Astros at Twins (if necessary), TBD, ESPN Networks   

Yankees at Indians (if necessary), TBD, ESPN Networks   

Brewers at Dodgers, TBD, ESPN Networks   

Reds at Braves, TBD, ESPN Networks   

Cardinals at Padres, TBD, ESPN Networks

Marlins at Cubs, TBD, ESPN Networks

Friday, Oct. 2   

Brewers at Dodgers (if necessary), TBD, ESPN Networks   

Reds at Braves (if necessary), TBD, ESPN Networks    

Cardinals at Padres (if necessary), TBD, ESPN Networks   

Marlins at Cubs (if necessary), TBD, ESPN Networks   

Games can be streamed via fuboTV or YouTube TV

Wild Card Breakdown   

Aaron Doster/Associated Press

Is it possible multiple top seeds could lose in the first round?

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays are two of the top betting favorites (via DraftKings) to win the World Series and should have plenty of pitching against their first-round opponents.

But the No. 2 vs. No. 7 matchups in both leagues could be very interesting.

The Atlanta Braves have one of the best offenses in baseball, ranking second in runs scored (348) and first in OPS (.832), per ESPN. First baseman Freddie Freeman went scorched-earth (1.276 OPS) in September, and the addition of Marcell Ozuna and a healthy Adam Duvall have made Atlanta's lineup all the more dangerous. However, the Braves will have a tough test in the Reds.

Cincinnati enters the playoffs having gone 15-9 in September and 11-3 in its last 14 games. The Reds also have the advantage of being able to throw Trevor Bauer—arguably this year's NL Cy Young—in Game 1, followed by Luis Castillo and Sonny Gray. Cincy's rotation might have enough to keep Atlanta's bats in check while possible eking out runs against a Braves starting group lacking in quality depth.

There is intrigue in the AL, as well, with the A's taking on the White Sox. Neither team has the most prolific of rotations, though Oakland's bullpen led the league in ERA (per FanGraphs) while the White Sox can send Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel to the hill in Game 1 and Game 2, respectively.

Both teams also enter the series in a bit of a funk. The A's won just three of their last eight, while the White Sox had just one victory in their final eight games. However, Chicago's offense can put up runs in bunches, and the White Sox could find themselves in the ALDS with a pair of quality starts from Giolito and Keuchel.

When talking about upsets, it is almost obligatory to talk about the Miami Marlins. The Marlins will be in their first postseason since 2003, and they have a strong 1-2 punch at the top of the rotation in rookie phenom Sixto Sanchez and fellow youngster Sandy Alcantara.

It is certainly possible Miami could upend the Cubs, though Chicago has its own dynamic duo in Yu Darvish and Kyle Hendricks, and Kris Bryant returned from injury with a pair of homers in his last two games after struggling for much of the series.

While the St. Louis Cardinals might be the underdog against the San Diego Padres, they have the arms to stifle Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado and Co., and the Padres could be reeling given the injuries to top arms Mike Clevinger and Dinelson Lamet. Whether the soft-hitting Redbirds—14th in the NL in both runs scored and OPS—have enough offense is another question entirely.

Offense will be imperative for the Yankees, who will be hoping to scratch across as many runs as possible against Cy Young Award favorite Shane Bieber and the rest of a dominant Indians pitching staff. Meanwhile, the Astros and Twins might be engaged in multiple slugfests.

Regardless, the expansion of the playoffs should make for a number of high-drama moments with teams potentially playing three games in three days.

All stats obtained via Baseball Reference, unless otherwise noted.