The Wild Card Round of MLB postseason is completed, and four teams move on to take on the teams waiting for them in the divisional round that secured first-round byes.
Each wild card series needed the minimum of two games to complete.
Here's how the bracket shakes out after the first round, with the first of the games in the divisional rounds starting on Saturday:
Updated MLB Playoff Bracket: Official American League bracket
And here, we go!
- No. 3 Twins vs No. 2 Astros
- No. 5 Rangers vs No. 1 Orioles
The Twins took town the Toronto Blue Jays, putting to rest any questions about their rightful place in the MLB postseason after they had the worst regular season record among division winners.
On the other arm of the bracket, the Rangers stormed into Tampa and handled the Rays with relative ease.
The winner of these two series will, of course, move on to face each other in the 2023 ALCS.
Updated MLB Playoff Bracket: Official National League bracket
- No. 6 Diamondbacks vs No. 2 Dodgers
- No. 4 Phillies vs No. 1 Braves
On the National League side, the Los Angeles Dodgers draw the Diamondbacks who won two games in Milwaukee to earn their next step in the MLB postseason.
Meanwhile, the Phillies press on to take on the No. 1 seed Atlanta Braves, and the current World Series favorite. By far, that series is the most immediately interesting of the four divisional round matchups, with the Phillies and Braves playing in the same division and developing a rivalry more heated than usual over the last two seasons.
Philly defeated Atlanta en route to its National League title last year.
