After a 162-game season that began back in March, we are again down to just a dozen teams in the hunt for a World Series title. October baseball officially begins today, with a quartet of Wild Card series matchups on the docket. Each series is the best of three games, with the higher seed hosting all three games. 

In the American League, the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros face off in one series, while the Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles play in the other. After a wild Monday doubleheader, the National League playoffs are finally set with the New York Mets taking on the Milwaukee Brewers and the Atlanta Braves playing the San Diego Padres. 

The top two division winners in each league earned first-round byes: the New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians in the AL, and the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies in the NL.

Wild Card games will be shown on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. After Thursday, however, coverage shifts to Fox and FS1 for the NLDS and NLCS, and TBS for the ALDS and ALCS. The 2024 World Series will be shown on Fox.

Yordan Alvarez and the Houston Astros are back in the playoffs. Kevin M. Cox/Getty Images What is the schedule for the Wild Card series?

There are no off days for the Wild Card teams. The Wild Card round starts on Tuesday, with Game 2 of each series scheduled for Wednesday. Any Wild Card series that goes the full three games will be settled on Thursday. The Astros, Orioles, Brewers and Padres are the higher seeds and will host each series.

Here are the times and channels for each series (all times ET):

Tuesday, Oct. 1 Game 1: Tigers vs. Astros, 2:30 p.m. on ABCGame 1: Royals vs. Orioles, 4:00 p.m. on ESPN2Game 1: Mets vs. Brewers, 5:30 p.m. on ESPNGame 1: Braves vs. Padres, 8:30 p.m. on ESPN Wednesday, Oct. 2 Game 2: Tigers vs. Astros, 2:32 p.m. on ABCGame 2: Royals vs. Orioles, 4:38 p.m. on ESPNGame 2: Mets vs. Brewers, 7:38 p.m. on ESPNGame 2: Braves vs. Padres, 8:38 p.m. on ESPN2 Thursday, Oct. 3 (if necessary) Game 3: Tigers vs. Astros, 2:32 p.m. on ABCGame 3: Royals vs. Orioles, 4:08 p.m. on ESPNGame 3: Braves vs. Padres, 7:08 p.m. on ESPNGame 3: Mets vs. Brewers, 8:38 p.m. on ESPN2

You can see the full postseason schedule here.

How to watch the Wild Card round without cable

If you don't have a cable or satellite TV subscription, you can watch all four Wild Card series with a live TV service. ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 are available on each of the five major streaming services, but not every service carries every local network in every area, so make sure to check each service using the links below to make sure it carries ABC where you live.

All of the live TV streaming services above offer free trials, allow you to cancel anytime and require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our live TV streaming services guide.