Chicago Cubs, White Sox In The Playoffs: MLB Postseason Schedule

CHICAGO — Major League Baseball playoffs begin Tuesday under a new, one-time format put in place due to the coronavirus crisis, which postponed the season's start for more than three months. The Chicago White Sox will take the field for Game 1 of the first round of playoffs at 2 p.m. CDT Tuesday against the Oakland Athletics. They'll face the A's in Oakland and the game will be broadcast on ESPN. Meanwhile, The Cubs will take on the Florida Marlins at home on Wednesday. That game starts at 1 p.m. CDT at Wrigley Field and will be broadcast on ABC.

Like the altered regular season, the postseason format will be much different from in ordinary years. It includes eight teams in both the American League and National League instead of the usual five, and the top four seeds in each league will host the entire best-of-three first-round series.

The first postseason game is scheduled for 1 p.m. CDT on Tuesday between the Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins.

After the first round ends, the divisional round will be best of five, and the league championship series will be best of seven. Both will be played on neutral sites, as will the World Series that’s set for Oct. 20 to 28 in Arlington, Texas.

There will be no off days between games in the first round, divisional round or league championship series.

Teams had a shortened season in 2020, playing just 60 games only against teams in their own region. Some teams, such as the St. Louis Cardinals, played fewer than 60 games due to positive coronavirus tests.

Here’s the first round schedule:

White Sox:

• Game 1: AL Wild Card Series Game 1, White Sox at A's, Tuesday at 2 p.m. CDT (ESPN)
• Game 2: AL Wild Card Series Game 2, White Sox at A's, Wednesday at 2 p.m. CDT (ESPN)
• Game 3: AL Wild Card Series Game 3, White Sox at A's, Thursday, time TBD (ESPN Networks)

Cubs:

• Game 1: NL Wild Card Series Game 1, Marlins at Cubs, Wednesday at 1 p.m. CDT (ABC)
• Game 2: NL Wild Card Series Game 2, Marlins at Cubs, Thursday, time TBD (ESPN Networks)
• Game 3: NL Wild Card Series Game 3, Marlins at Cubs, Friday, time TBD (ESPN Networks)