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Red Sox, Yankees Set for Wild Card Showdown
Confirmed
In Short: The Boston Red Sox will travel to the Bronx to face the New York Yankees in the Wild Card round of the 2026 MLB playoffs.
The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees are set to renew their rivalry in the Wild Card round of the 2026 MLB playoffs, with the Red Sox traveling to the Bronx for Game 1 next Tuesday.
This marks the seventh time the Red Sox and Yankees have met in the postseason, with their most recent matchup occurring during the 2025 Wild Card series.
Cam Schlittler's strong pitching performance helped the Red Sox clinch their spot in the divisional series, despite opening the postseason with a Wild Card loss.
The Tampa Bay Rays have clinched the AL East title, leaving the Yankees and Red Sox to battle it out for seeding in the wild card round.
The Cubs and Padres have clinched their wild card spots, while the White Sox and Guardians are still competing for the AL Central title and the third American League wild card.
The Philadelphia Phillies are in a strong position to secure the final National League wild card spot, with the Diamondbacks fading in the standings.
The Brewers, Dodgers, and Braves have all secured playoff berths as division winners, with Milwaukee earning a bye past the Wild Card Series and home field advantage in the NLDS.
The playoffs begin on Sunday, September 27, with the higher seed hosting the first and third games, while the lower seed hosts the second game.
The Valkyries, in their second season, have made the playoffs each year and are now seen as a serious contender in the WNBA playoffs.
What this adds
The Rays' clinching of the AL East title means the Yankees and Red Sox will face off in the Wild Card round.
Background
The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are set to face off in the upcoming Wild Card series, with a twist: Aaron Judge's absence due to a right calf strain.
What's confirmed
- Elsewhere in the bracket, the Brewers, Dodgers and Braves have all secured playoff berths as division winners out of the National League, with Milwaukee securing a bye past the Wild Card Series and home field advantage in the NLDS.
What's still developing
- The home team is heading into the matchup with an intimidating pitching rotation led by Schlittler, Gerrit Cole, Max Fried and Carlos Rodón but potentially missing Aaron Judge, who could miss the Wild Card round with a right calf strain.
- Now, let's get you caught up on the bracket, standings, clinching scenarios and more.
- All division and postseason projections referenced in the standings come from SportsLine.
- 5 Cubs Clinched division - x Clinched wild-card - y Clinched playoff berth - z Eliminated - e The content on this site is for entertainment purposes only and CBS Sports makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the information given or the outcome of any game or event.
- One team will win the division while the other is looking at a wild-card spot.
- The Yankees will host one of the two AL wild-card series and will host the Red Sox, with the winner then facing the Rays in the ALDS.
- Shortly after rolling out of bed and being grateful that the dog didn’t chew up the pillow, Major League Baseball fans woke up Friday morning to see that we’re oh so close to having a finalized postseason bracket.
- Entering Friday's games, the Cleveland Guardians have a one-game lead on the Chicago White Sox (who have clinched at least a wild-card spot) in the American League Central, while the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers are tied at 79-80 atop the AL West, with Houston holding the tiebreaker.
- In the NL wild card, the San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies are just about locked in for the three spots – but it's wide-open as to where the trio will finish in the standings.
- For the second straight September, the Phillies are facing the possibility of reaching the playoffs with a top-line starting pitcher on the injured list.
- The 2026 WNBA playoff bracket has arrived, with eight top teams scheduled to open a best-of-three series on Sunday, September 27th.
- The Liberty (26-18) won the 2024 championship but slid to the bottom of the bracket this year thanks to a growing injury list.