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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →The National League Division Series (NLDS) is a best-of-five playoff round: the first team to win three games advances. The higher seed hosts Games 1 and 2, the lower seed hosts Games 3 and 4 if needed, and the higher seed hosts Game 5 if needed. In 2026, MLB lists NLDS games on Oct. 3, 4, 6, 7 and 9, with the last two dates used only if necessary.
How many teams reach the MLB postseason?
Twelve teams qualify: six from the National League and six from the American League. Each league sends its three division winners and three Wild Card teams. The division winners are seeded 1–3 according to their records; the Wild Card teams fill seeds 4–6, also by record. The top two division winners receive byes into the Division Series. MLB’s postseason format FAQ explains the current structure.
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How does the NLDS bracket work?
The Wild Card Series determines the two remaining participants in each league’s Division Series. Seeds 3 and 6 play each other, as do seeds 4 and 5. The 3/6 winner faces seed 2, while the 4/5 winner faces seed 1. MLB does not reseed teams after the Wild Card round, so those matchups are fixed by seed rather than recalculated based on which clubs advance.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteWhat does best-of-five and 2-2-1 mean?
An NLDS ends as soon as one team wins three games. The higher seed has home-field advantage under the 2-2-1 arrangement:
#1 Best Overall
- Games 1 and 2: hosted by the higher seed.
- Games 3 and 4, if needed: hosted by the lower seed.
- Game 5, if needed: hosted by the higher seed.
The series can therefore last three, four or five games. By comparison, the League Championship Series and World Series are best-of-seven rounds.
What is the 2026 NLDS schedule?
MLB’s 2026 postseason schedule lists the following dates for NLDS games. Games 4 and 5 are conditional; if a series ends earlier, they are not played.
| Game | Scheduled date | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Game 1 | Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026 | Played |
| Game 2 | Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026 | Played |
| Game 3 | Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026 | Played |
| Game 4 | Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026 | Only if needed |
| Game 5 | Friday, Oct. 9, 2026 | Only if needed |
The schedule is subject to change; consult MLB’s live schedule for current dates, times and results. The posted schedule lists NLDS broadcasts on FOX or FS1 and related FOX platforms.
Do standings tiebreakers decide a tied NLDS?
No. MLB’s tiebreaker rules resolve regular-season standings ties that affect postseason qualification or seeding. They do not determine the winner of a postseason series. An NLDS is decided on the field: a team must win three games.
Rank #3
- Official NFHS Rule Book
How does MLB break regular-season ties?
MLB no longer uses a Game 163 to settle regular-season ties affecting playoff entry or seeding. The league applies mathematical tiebreaking criteria instead, beginning with head-to-head record for a two-team tie. The detailed procedure is set out in MLB’s tiebreaker explainer.
Two-team ties
If two clubs are tied, MLB compares their records in this order until the tie is resolved:
Rank #4
- Head-to-head record.
- Record within the division.
- Record within the league.
- Record in intraleague games after the All-Star break.
- Results in intraleague games, starting with the last game of the first-half intraleague schedule and moving backward one game at a time as needed.
Three- and four-team ties
Multi-team ties require additional branches; head-to-head alone is not a complete rule. For three tied clubs, MLB considers results among those clubs and then applies further record comparisons. The process varies depending on whether the three teams have identical records against one another. For a four-team tie for one spot, MLB first checks whether one club has a better record against each of the other three, then compares results among the tied teams, division records, league records and second-half records, with further individual-game comparisons if needed.
For the exact procedure in a particular standings scenario, use MLB’s current tiebreaker rules: the sequence depends on the number of tied teams and what postseason spot is at stake.
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