MLB Playoff Bracket 2020: AL, NL Wild Card TV Schedule, Live Stream and Picks

Who's ready for some playoff baseball?

The American League side of the Wild Card Series begins Tuesday afternoon, followed by what promises to be a wild Wednesday with all 16 postseason teams in action.

The Los Angeles Dodgers finished with the best record in baseball at 43-17, and they appear to be built for postseason success with a deep lineup, talented starting rotation and a lights-out relief corps.

However, with 16 teams still vying for a World Series title, anything can happen, and as we've seen in years past, it's all about who gets hot at the right time.

Before the first pitch in the Houston Astros vs. Minnesota Twins matchup kicks off the 2020 postseason, let's take a look at the full playoff schedule and make some picks for who will come out on top in each series.

Wild-Card Series Schedule (all times ET)

Tuesday, Sept. 29

G1: Houston Astros @ Minnesota Twins (2:08 p.m. on ABC or WatchESPN)
G1: Chicago White Sox @ Oakland Athletics (3:08 p.m. on ESPN or WatchESPN)
G1: Toronto Blue Jays @ Tampa Bay Rays (5:07 p.m. on TBS or WatchTBS)
G1: New York Yankees @ Cleveland Indians (7:08 p.m. on ESPN or WatchESPN)

Wednesday, Sept. 30

G1: Cincinnati Reds @ Atlanta Braves (12:08 p.m. on ESPN or WatchESPN)
G2: Houston Astros @ Minnesota Twins (1:08 p.m. on ESPN2 or WatchESPN)
G1: Miami Marlins @ Chicago Cubs (2:08 p.m. on ABC or WatchESPN)
G2: Chicago White Sox @ Oakland Athletics (3:10 p.m. on ESPN or WatchESPN)
G2: Toronto Blue Jays @ Tampa Bay Rays (4:07 p.m. on TBS or WatchTBS)
G1: St. Louis Cardinals @ San Diego Padres (5:08 p.m. on ESPN2 or WatchESPN)
G2: New York Yankees @ Cleveland Indians (7:08 p.m. on ESPN or WatchESPN)
G1: Milwaukee Brewers @ Los Angeles Dodgers (10:08 p.m. on ESPN or WatchESPN)

Thursday, Oct. 1

G2: Milwaukee Brewers @ Los Angeles Dodgers (TBD on ESPN or WatchESPN)
G2: Cincinnati Reds @ Atlanta Braves (TBD on ESPN or WatchESPN)
G3: New York Yankees @ Cleveland Indians (TBD on ESPN or WatchESPN)
G3: Houston Astros @ Minnesota Twins (TBD on ESPN or WatchESPN)
G3: Chicago White Sox @ Oakland Athletics (TBD on ESPN or WatchESPN)
G3: Toronto Blue Jays @ Tampa Bay Rays (TBD on TBS or WatchTBS)
G2: St. Louis Cardinals @ San Diego Padres (TBD on ESPN or WatchESPN)
G2: Miami Marlins @ Chicago Cubs (TBD on ESPN or WatchESPN)

Friday, Oct. 2

G3: Cincinnati Reds @ Atlanta Braves (TBD on ESPN or WatchESPN)
G3: Miami Marlins @ Chicago Cubs (TBD on ESPN or WatchESPN)
G3: Milwaukee Brewers @ Los Angeles Dodgers (TBD on ESPN or WatchESPN)
G3: St. Louis Cardinals @ San Diego Padres (TBD on ESPN or WatchESPN)

Italics=if necessary

American League Picks

Kamil Krzaczynski/Associated Press

(1) Tampa Bay Rays over (8) Toronto Blue Jays—2-1

The Rays finished third in the majors with a 3.56 ERA, and they should have more than enough offensive firepower against the Blue Jays. Toronto will turn to Matt Shoemaker in Game 1 and Taijuan Walker in Game 3, sandwiched around ace Hyun-Jin Ryu in Game 2.

(7) Chicago White Sox over (2) Oakland Athletics—2-0

Can the White Sox flip the switch after stumbling to a 1-7 record to close out the year? The one-two punch of Lucas Giolito and Dallas Keuchel should help set the tone for their playoff run, with the Athletics countering with Jesus Luzardo and Chris Bassitt. The South Siders starter for a potential Game 3 is up in the air, so a sweep would be more than welcome.

(3) Minnesota Twins over (6) Houston Astros—2-0

Kenta Maeda is more than capable of out-pitching Zack Greinke in Game 1, and Jose Berrios was rolling with a 2.14 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 33.2 innings in the six starts leading up to his final regular-season tune-up. There is no question the Twins have the lineup to do some serious damage, but their starting rotation is also lining up to be a major strength in October.

(4) Cleveland Indians over (5) New York Yankees—2-1

The Shane Bieber vs. Gerrit Cole matchup in Game 1 will set the tone for this entire series. If it goes to Game 3, it looks like advantage Cleveland with Zach Plesac on the mound against either J.A. Happ or Deivi Garcia. The biggest question here is whether the Indians' bats will show up, but Jose Ramirez has been a one-man wrecking crew for the last month.

National League Picks

Aaron Doster/Associated Press

(1) Los Angeles Dodgers over (8) Milwaukee Brewers—2-0

With ace Corbin Burnes sidelined and an offense that averaged just 4.1 runs per game, the sub-.500 Brewers look completely overmatched by the No. 1-seeded Dodgers on paper. Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler will be backed by an array of quality bullpen arms, and the Milwaukee pitching staff will have a tough time slowing down the Dodgers offense.

(7) Cincinnati Reds over (2) Atlanta Braves—2-1

The starting staff of Trevor Bauer, Luis Castillo, Sonny Gray and No. 4 starter Tyler Mahle when things progress further is reminiscent of the rotation that the 2005 White Sox rode to a World Series title. The Braves offense is capable of putting a crooked number on the board at any point. On the flip side, rookie starters Ian Anderson and Kyle Wright face a tall order in their postseason debuts for Atlanta in Game 2 and Game 3.

(3) Chicago Cubs over (6) Miami Marlins—2-0

If the Marlins can pick up a victory in one of the first two games, rookie Sixto Sanchez could cause the inconsistent Cubs offense some real problems in their first look against him in Game 3. However, the one-two punch of Kyle Hendricks and Yu Darvish is capable of shutting down the Miami offense and avoiding that scenario entirely.

(4) San Diego Padres over (5) St. Louis Cardinals—2-1

The pesky Cardinals played 53 games in 44 days after a 16-day layoff following a COVID-19 outbreak, somehow surviving that grind to make the postseason. Jack Flaherty has not been the same ace he was a year ago, and Adam Wainwright no longer has elite stuff, but one of them is capable of pushing the series to a Game 3. The health of Dinelson Lamet and Mike Clevinger is the X-factor here, and if they're both available and pitching up to their potential, the Padres have to be the favorites.

All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs.