:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69946122/1340636120.0.jpg)
The 2021 MLB playoffs are set to begin on Tuesday. October 5th with the AL Wild Card game, the National League playing a day later to decide to full bracket. It was a tight race to the end in the American League between a trio of AL East squads and the Seattle Mariners. Ultimately, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox went on to clinch AL Wild Card spots and will play on Tuesday at Fenway Park. The Los Angeles Dodgers will host the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday in the NL WC game.
Now that we know who will face each other in the Wild Card games this week, we can take a look at the overall brackets in both the AL and NL. Here’s how things shake out.
American League playoff bracket
AL Wild Card game: New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox, Tuesday, October 5th, 8 p.m. ET
Divisional Series
No. 1 Tampa Bay Rays host Yankees/Red Sox
No. 2 Houston Astros host No. 3 Chicago White Sox
The Rays will face a familiar foe in either the Yankees or Red Sox after the Wild Card game. The Astros and White Sox will face each other in the postseason for the first time since 2005, when Chicago defeated Houston in the World Series in four games.
National League playoff bracket
NL Wild Card game: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. St. Louis Cardinals, October 6th, 8 p.m. ET
No. 1 San Francisco Giants host Dodgers/Cardinals
No. 2 Milwaukee Brewers host No. 3 Atlanta Braves
The Giants defeated the San Diego Padres on the final day of the season to clinch the NL West title and No. 1 overall seed. So the Dodgers in all their glory will be faced with a one-game playoff against one of the hottest teams in baseball — the Cardinals. The Brewers will take on the Braves in a matchup with plenty of historical relevance. The Braves moved from Milwaukee to ATL in 1966.