The first day of the 2026 MLB playoffs opened with a late Braves rally and a White Sox win, followed by a fast start in San Diego and a Cy Young favorite doing Cam Schlittler things in the Bronx.
Four Wild Card Series openers, four Game 1 winners Austin Riley hit his first home run of the postseason, a three-run shot in the eighth inning that put the Braves past the Phillies 5-3. The White Sox, who followed their 100-loss streak with a playoff berth, beat the Astros 6-3 for their first postseason win since 2021.
Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado homered in the first game as the Padres beat the Cubs 8-0. And Ben Rice hit a grand slam and drove in six runs while Schlittler struck out 10 in a 9-0 Yankees rout of the Red Sox.
Here’s everything you might have missed on Day 1 of the MLB Playoffs:
The greatest moments
The first home run of the 2026 postseason was huge.
Austin Riley launched a two-run, three-run shot over the wall in right-center field for a three-run shot by Phillies closer Jhoan Duran in the eighth inning, turning a 3-2 deficit into a 5-3 Atlanta lead and, ultimately, Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series.
The homer also answered a Philadelphia rally in the seventh when JT Realmuto’s two-run triple erased a 2-1 Braves lead after Chris Sale, who struck out nine, left the game.
Austin Riley rounds first base after his walk-off homer in the clutch. (David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
She gave it to him Atlanta Braves a 5-3 win in Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series. The ball left the bat at 104.6 mph and traveled an estimated 385 yards. It was an especially sweet swing for Riley, who hit just .219 with 19 homers during the regular season.
Tatis, Machado Rock Petco Park with First Homers
Fernando Tatis Jr. bounced on the first pitch by Cubs shortstop Matthew Boyd and sent it 405 feet to center field, the first leadoff homer in Padres postseason history.
Two batters later, Manny Machado hauled in a Boyd changeup 391 feet to leave for a 2-0 lead. It was the first time San Diego hit two homers in the first game of a postseason game.
Tatis walked in the fourth and Machado drove him in with a double off the center field wall, and Xander Bogaerts followed with a second-inning homer in the fourth.
The best striker
Ben Rice tormented the Red Sox from start to finish.
He went 4-for-5 with two home runs, a double and six RBIs in a 9-0 Yankees victory. He doubled in the first inning, then beat out a solo homer by Erik Miller in the fifth for a 2-0 lead. He singled in a run in the seventh when the Yankees put the game away, then put it away with a grand slam in the eighth.
Rice hit 41 home runs in the regular season. With Aaron Judge out with a calf injury and off the Wild Card roster, the Yankees needed him to carry the offense, and he did. Rice grew up in Massachusetts and went to college at Dartmouth in Hanover, New Hampshire, before the Yankees drafted him.
The best pitcher
Michael King pitched a no-hitter into the seventh inning against MLB’s top-ranked offense. The Padres right-hander was hitless in six innings and 83 pitches.
Chicago finally got its first hit in the seventh when Nico Hoerner’s hard grounder down the third base line got past Manny Machado. King finished the inning with a streak of seven innings, one hit, no earned runs, three walks and eight strikeouts.
He hadn’t pitched more than seven innings all season, so a complete game hit was always a long shot. It was still a statement against a Cubs team that went 5-1 against San Diego in the regular season. The Padres’ offense gave him plenty of room, building a 7-0 lead in the fifth inning.
What’s next
For the Phillies, Astros, Red Sox and Cubs, their season is on the line, as another loss on Wednesday means they’re out. For the Braves, White Sox, Yankees and Padres, another win secures a spot in the division series, with those games starting Saturday.
A win by any of the trailing teams would force a deciding Game 3 on Thursday.
Here’s how it might shake out on Wednesday:
- If the Braves beat the Phillies, Atlanta will face the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
- If the White Sox beat the Astros, Chicago will face the AL Central champion Rangers.
- If the Yankees beat the Red Sox, New York will face the AL East champion Tampa Bay Rays.
- If the Padres beat the Cubs, San Diego will face the NL Central champion Milwaukee Brewers.
