Top storyline for each Wild Card Series Game 1

At last, we have playoff baseball. (It has been 335 days, exactly 11 months, since our last MLB postseason game. That’s too many days!) In a month or so, we will know the 2026 World Series champion, but we have a whole bunch of games to go before then. And those games start on Tuesday.

Throughout this postseason, I’ll be previewing each day’s action, game by game. We couldn’t kick it off any better, with Wild Card Series Game 1s.

Here is the top storyline for each:

Phillies at Braves
2 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock
SP: Jesús Luzardo (PHI) vs. Chris Sale (ATL)

Can the Phillies put the last week behind them?

It is fair to say that the Phillies did not exactly come charging into the postseason with their chests forward and their chins held high. A 5-10 stretch turned what looked like a locked-down playoff berth into a white-knuckle situation, as the D-backs nearly chased them down from behind. Philadelphia’s lineup essentially collapsed. It took a 7-3 victory on a rainy final day at Citizens Bank Park to avoid a historic collapse.

But now that they have survived, the slate is clean. They’re in the postseason, which is really all that matters. It’s their fifth consecutive postseason and they are stacked with veterans, which is to say, they have seen all of this before. The Braves and Phillies are heated rivals with a long history … a history longer than the Phillies’ recent struggles. Two wins in Georgia, and no Phillies fan will remember the ugliness of that last week at all.

White Sox at Astros
5 p.m. ET, Peacock/NBCSN
SP: TBD

Are either of these teams for real?

It was a strange season in the American League, with the three best teams all in the East and everyone in the Central and West scrambling for the final two or three playoff spots. The White Sox and Astros finished with the 12th- and 14th-most wins in the Majors, respectively, with Houston getting outscored by 32 runs and becoming the first division winner to not finish above .500 since divisions began in 1969. Neither team comes barreling into the series red-hot -- they both were under .500 in September. But none of that is going to stop whoever wins this series from heading into Cleveland for Game 1 of the AL Division Series on Saturday feeling like they’re a team of destiny.

Neither team has its pitching lined up perfectly here, but this may come down to which lineup can come alive in time. The White Sox have struggled down the stretch, especially shortstop Colson Montgomery and first baseman Munetaka Murakami, although the latter did pop four homers and slug .684 over his final 10 games. The Astros have gotten Yordan Alvarez hot again, but still haven’t done much to make anyone not pitch around him at every opportunity.

But that’s all in the past, anyway. Which is all to say: Who cares that these two teams had the worst regular-season records of any team in the postseason? Everyone’s 0-0 now.

Red Sox at Yankees
8 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock
SP: Payton Tolle (BOS) vs. Cam Schlittler (NYY)

Can the Yankees’ pitching carry the team?

Whether or not Aaron Judge is on the roster and in the lineup against the Red Sox -- and that remains up in the air -- it’s fair to assume he’s not going to be the Aaron Judge we’ve seen wreak havoc on pitchers for a decade now. So the Yankees have to lean on their primary advantage against the Red Sox (and against just about anyone), which is their starting pitching. A trio of Schlittler, Max Fried and Gerrit Cole is terrifying for anyone, particularly a team like the Red Sox. Boston’s offense has struggled mightily over the last month, and is still trying to recover from some injuries themselves, most notably to first baseman Willson Contreras, who should be back, but might not be himself yet, either.

The Red Sox do have Sonny Gray lined up for Game 2, but Garrett Crochet hasn’t pitched since April and is ticketed for a bullpen spot, at best. (Whatever his role, you can’t ask him to just show up and start looking like last year’s Cy Young Award runner-up.) The Yankees have this season’s presumed AL Cy Young Award winner in Game 1, and Schlittler should be plenty rested and ready to go against the team he grew up cheering for. He was the difference when these teams met in this round last year. He may be the difference this year, too.

Cubs at Padres
10 p.m. ET, Peacock/NBCSN
SP: Matthew Boyd (CHC) vs. Michael King (SD)

Can the Cubs score early and often?

There may be no more dramatic contrast between any two teams playing each other in any Wild Card Series than these two bullpens. The Padres have Mason Miller and a ‘pen with clear, set roles -- with Adrian Morejon, Yuki Matsui and Bradgley Rodriguez all lined up and ready to go.

The Cubs have no real closer, and, really, are just throwing as many arms as they can at any problem and hoping it doesn’t fall apart on them. They have an outstanding offense, an incredible defense and … a pitching staff that’s held together with spackle and gum. They will need to jump out to early leads and hold on for dear life.

So any time the Padres are ahead after five innings, it may feel like the game is already over. Pete Crow-Armstrong may want to front-load those homers.