2026 MLB playoffs: Biggest Division Series keys for each team after opening weekend

We’re two games into each of the two NLDS matchups while the ALDS picks back up with a pair of Game 2s on Monday. 

Things have been very, very close thus far across all four series, and it stands to reason that things will remain very tight over the remaining games as we figure out who the last four teams standing will be. 

With SeatGeek serving as the Official Ticket Marketplace of MLB, we’ve watched the MLB postseason very closely, including the Division Series. As such, we’re going to break down what each of these eight teams needs to do right away in their respective series. 

NLDS keys for each team

Things are getting real fast in the NLDS, with Milwaukee one win from moving on and Dodgers-Braves suddenly down to a best-of-three.

Brewers vs. Padres: Milwaukee up 2-0, series shifts to San Diego

Brewers: Ensure Misiorowski doesn’t pitch again this series

The Brewers obviously want to close this out in Game 3 on Tuesday. What team wouldn’t? But a win over the Padres in San Diego in Game 3 would be massive for a Milwaukee team that is trying to get back to the World Series for the first time since 1982 – a series the team lost to St. Louis. 

If the Brewers win on Tuesday, it ensures ace Jacob Misiorowski will not pitch again until Game 1 of the NLCS. Misiorowski, the likely NL Cy Young winner, pitched just four innings in Game 1, giving up two runs in the process. Milwaukee won, but the team’s ace was not a big reason why. 

Misiorowski is too good to struggle and not work deep again, and a sweep gives the Brewers the ability to really build their NLCS rotation around him. The ace would pitch Game 1 and likely Game 5, which would set him up for a potential relief appearance in Game 7 if needed. That’s much better than pitching Game 4 of the NLDS and not pitching until potentially Game 3 of the NLCS. It would also ensure Misiorowski starts Game 1 of the NLCS at home, where he had a 1.52 ERA in 16 regular season starts.  

Padres: The two biggest names lead the charge

The Padres were this close to being tied 1-1 or even up 2-0 heading back home to San Diego, but it was just not meant to be. San Diego has a great team and roster, and the Friars certainly can make the Brewers work over these next two games to force a winner-take-all Game 5 back in Milwaukee. 

If that’s to happen, though, the Padres need their two biggest bats to show up – Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado. 

Machado has been steady this postseason, going 2-for-6 with three walks in the first two games of the NLDS after going 3-for-7 with a home run and two runs scored in the Wild Card Round against Chicago. The Padres will need that and then some to really get back into this series. 

Tatis is the real X-factor here, though. He had two hits – including a home run – in seven at-bats against the Cubs last round, but the Brewers have dominated him thus far. He’s 1-for-10 with three strikeouts. 

There are other notable hitters like Ty France, Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts, but if the Padres are going to make a series of this, Tatis and Machado have to be the driving forces alongside more strong pitching. 

Dodgers vs. Braves: Tied 1-1, series shifts to Atlanta

Braves: Ace Chris Sale shows up

For all his accolades and success, Sale really hasn’t done much in the postseason. The 16-year veteran is in just his fourth postseason, and while we all remember his strikeout of Machado to wrap up the 2018 World Series for Boston, Sale has a 5.83 ERA in 12 postseason appearances.

The lefty pitched twice against Philly in the Wild Card Round, tossing 7 2/3 innings for a 3.52 ERA. He gets the nod for Atlanta in Game 3, and he’s the perfect man for the job.

Sale has been amazing at home this year with a 1.66 ERA in 14 starts in Atlanta. He’s also been one of the few pitchers to dominate the Dodgers this year. Across two starts, Sale has a 1.13 ERA against L.A. in 2026 with an 18-3 K-BB ratio. He pitched a complete game shutout at home against the Dodgers with 11 strikeouts and also tossed seven innings in L.A., allowing three runs (two earned).

The Braves, by taking Game 2 3-2, have stolen home-field advantage for this series as they’ll host Games 3 and 4. Sale has been one of the best pitchers of his era, but it’s time for a truly dominant playoff start – something he has never done in his career. 

Dodgers: The big four take over

The Dodgers have a deep lineup with stars, but it’s the top four in their lineup that make things go. That quartet is Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Will Smith. Those four have power, patience and a heck of a lot of playoff experience and big-time moments under their belts. 

So far, the Braves have kept that group in check. They’re a collective 6-for-28 thus far with one extra-base hit – a Freeman solo homer in Game 2. 

To put all the pressure on these four isn’t necessarily fair, especially given how many big names hit 5-9 for L.A. But these four drive the ship. There are six MVPs, 12 World Series rings and a World Series MVP spread out between Betts, Ohtani, Freeman and Smith. 

The Dodgers can win with all four of those bats remaining quiet, but it’s just going to be a lot more difficult to accomplish. 

ALDS keys for each team

One game into the ALDS, the pressure is already cranking up. Cleveland and New York need answers, while Chicago and Tampa Bay have a chance to put a serious grip on their respective series.

White Sox vs. Guardians: Chicago up 1-0, Cleveland hosts Game 2

White Sox: Keep on sluggin’

The White Sox have been awesome this postseason. Including their two-game sweep in Houston last round, the Sox have outscored their opponents 16-6 after beating Cleveland 3-0 and silencing the Guardians’ fans in Game 1. 

Chicago has been able to slug in its three games so far, hitting three home runs as part of five total extra-base hits. Munetaka Murakami hit a two-run shot in the fourth inning on the heels of a potential Cleveland rally, and that proved to be enough as five White Sox pitchers combined for a nine-inning shutout. 

The Guardians’ lineup is hardly elite, but getting another shutout is a tough task. Slugging game to game is far more manageable, though, and be it Murakami, Miguel Vargas or Colson Montgomery, the White Sox have the ability to outslug Cleveland in this series. 

Guardians: Cash in with runners on

That the Guardians didn’t score in Game 1 is still wild. They had the bases loaded in both the second and third innings and came away with a big ol’ goose egg. Coming up empty-handed in the third inning was followed up immediately by Murakami’s two-run shot in the fourth inning. Ouch. 

Overall, Cleveland left seven on base and went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position. Those two innings were really the Guardians’ lone chances to come away with runs, but they were two elite opportunities that were squandered.

Cleveland ranked 24th in runs scored this year, and the Guardians were just 27th in home runs. If they don’t score with the bags packed, they’re simply not going to win this series. 

Yankees vs. Rays: Tampa Bay up 1-0, hosts Game 2

Rays: Freddy Peralta continues great run for Tampa

The Rays’ trade for Peralta from New York was all about upside. The former All-Star who finished fifth in NL Cy Young voting last year was terrible with the Mets. A move to the Rays had the potential to be a win-win given Tampa Bay needed more pitching help and Peralta needed a strong finish to the year before hitting free agency. 

Peralta has indeed turned things around with the Rays. He went 5-2 with a 3.25 ERA in 10 starts after the deadline, and he finished especially strong, posting a 4-0 record with a 0.96 ERA in five September starts. 

The Rays are exceptionally strong in terms of pitching, and if Peralta is pitching at this kind of a level in the postseason, they’re that much tougher to beat. That’s especially true given what Drew Rasmussen and Co. did to New York’s lineup in a dominant 1-0 win in Game 1. 

Yankees: Make us forget Aaron Judge as best you can

The Yankees’ captain and three-time MVP is not playing in this series. It’s a big blow for the Yankees, obviously, but New York did just fine without him in a dominant sweep of the Red Sox in the Wild Card Round. The Yanks sure missed him in Game 1 of the ALDS, though.

New York had absolutely nothing going against Tampa Bay to kick off the ALDS. Gerrit Cole did his job – five innings of one-run ball – and New York’s bullpen tossed four scoreless innings. But the Yankees had one hit and two walks in Game 1. New York had one at-bat with a runner in scoring position, left just two runners on, and the lone hit, an Austin Wells double, came in the eighth inning. Oh, and Wells was thrown out at third trying to leg it out into a triple, ending the inning. 

The Yankees won’t get Judge back this series. This group is who they have. But it’s still a very good group! Cody Bellinger, Luis Garcia Jr., Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Co. are more than capable of stringing some hits and homers together against the Rays. You can’t actually just forget Judge, but you have to at least make it so the conversation isn’t “Man, what if the Yankees had Judge?” But if Game 1 is any indication, the Yankees are in trouble in the hitting department.