Skip to content
RecortNews
BRENES
Sports

The White Sox close out a historic comeback as the 2026 MLB playoff field fills on the final day

Chicago took the last American League wild card at 84-78, two years after back-to-back 100-loss seasons; the four Wild Card Series start Tuesday.

By Redação RecortNews
The Chicago White Sox's ballpark on the city's South Side during a game against the New York Mets in 2019, when it was known as Guaranteed Rate Field.
The Chicago White Sox's ballpark on the city's South Side during a game against the New York Mets in 2019, when it was known as Guaranteed Rate Field.Photo: Zakarie Faibis/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

The 2026 Major League Baseball regular season ended on Sunday, September 27, and the twelve-team postseason field is complete. All four Wild Card Series begin Tuesday, September 29.

The team that will draw the most attention going in is the one nobody expected to see. The Chicago White Sox finished 84-78 and took the last American League wild card — and in doing so, according to Major League Baseball, became the first club in major league history to reach the playoffs after losing 100 or more games in at least two consecutive seasons.

An AL West won at .500

The Houston Astros are the No. 3 seed in the American League with a record of 81-81, having clinched the division on the final day when the Texas Rangers lost to the Minnesota Twins.

That produces an oddity in the bracket. The New York Yankees finished 93-68 — eight more wins than the Cleveland Guardians (85-77) and twelve more than Houston — but enter as the No. 4 seed, because the top three seeds in each league are reserved for division winners. The Guardians get a first-round bye; the Yankees play in the Wild Card round. The Yankees also played 161 games rather than 162: a rain-out against the Baltimore Orioles was never made up.

The final seeds

American League

  1. Tampa Bay Rays, 98-64 (AL East) — bye
  2. Cleveland Guardians, 85-77 (AL Central) — bye
  3. Houston Astros, 81-81 (AL West)
  4. New York Yankees, 93-68
  5. Boston Red Sox, 87-75
  6. Chicago White Sox, 84-78

National League

  1. Milwaukee Brewers, 103-59 (NL Central) — bye
  2. Los Angeles Dodgers, 100-62 (NL West) — bye
  3. Atlanta Braves, 94-68 (NL East)
  4. San Diego Padres, 91-71
  5. Chicago Cubs, 89-73
  6. Philadelphia Phillies, 88-74

The Brewers' 103 wins were the best in baseball. The Phillies were the last team in, clinching on the season's final afternoon with a win over the Rays after a poor closing week.

The matchups

The best-of-three Wild Card Series run Tuesday through Thursday, October 1, with the lower seed visiting in every game:

  • White Sox at Astros
  • Red Sox at Yankees
  • Phillies at Braves
  • Cubs at Padres

The four winners advance to the Division Series against the Rays, Guardians, Brewers and Dodgers.

Reporting from MLB.com and CBS Sports.

Read next