MLB Playoffs 2024: How to Watch the Wild Card Games Without Cable Today
After a 162-game season that started in March, there are once again only a dozen teams in the hunt for a World Series title. October baseball officially begins today, with a quartet of Wild Card Series games on the docket. Each series is the best of three games, with the higher series hosting all three games.
In the American League, the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros face each other in one series, while the Kansas City Royals and Baltimore Orioles play in the other series. After a wild doubleheader on Monday, the National League playoffs have finally begun, with the New York Mets taking on the Milwaukee Brewers and the Atlanta Braves taking on the San Diego Padres.
The top two division winners in each league earned first-round byes: the New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians in the AL, and the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies in the NL.
Wild Card games are shown on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. After Thursday, however, coverage will shift to Fox and FS1 for the NLDS and NLCS, and TBS for the ALDS and ALCS. The 2024 World Series will be shown on Fox.
Yordan Alvarez and the Houston Astros are back in the playoffs.
What is the schedule for the Wild Card Series?
There are no days off for the Wild Card teams. The Wild Card round begins Tuesday, with Game 2 of each series scheduled for Wednesday. Each Wild Card series spanning the full three games will be settled on Thursday. The Astros, Orioles, Brewers and Padres are the higher seeds and will host each series.
Here are the times and channels for each series (all times ET):
Tuesday October 1
- Game 1: Tigers vs. Astros, 2:30 PM on ABC
- Game 1: Royals vs. Orioles, 4:00 PM on ESPN2
- Game 1: Mets vs. Brewers, 5:30 PM on ESPN
- Game 1: Braves vs. Padres, 8:30 PM on ESPN
Wednesday October 2
- Game 2: Tigers vs. Astros, 2:32 p.m. on ABC
- Game 2: Royals vs. Orioles, 4:38 PM on ESPN
- Game 2: Mets vs. Brewers, 7:38 PM on ESPN
- Game 2: Braves vs. Padres, 8:38 PM on ESPN2
Thursday October 3 (if necessary)
- Game 3: Tigers vs. Astros, 2:32 p.m. on ABC
- Game 3: Royals vs. Orioles, 4:08 PM on ESPN
- Game 3: Braves vs. Padres, 7:08 PM on ESPN
- Game 3: Mets vs. Brewers, 8:38 PM on ESPN2
You can do the full postseason schedule here.
How to watch the Wild Card round without cable
If you don’t have a cable or satellite TV subscription, you can watch all four Wild Card series with a live TV service. ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 are available on each of the five major streaming services, but not every service has every local network in every area. So check each service using the links below to make sure ABC is offered where you live.
Sling TV’s Sling Orange plan includes ESPN and ESPN2, but not ABC, and its Blue plan includes ABC (only in a handful of markets) but neither ESPN channels. Each plan costs $45 per month in areas with ABC ($40 elsewhere), and the combined Orange-and-Blue plan that includes all three channels costs $60 per month ($55 in markets without ABC). Looking ahead, Sling’s Blue plan includes Fox, FS1 and TBS for the next rounds in each league and the World Series.
Read our Sling TV review.
Hulu Plus Live TV costs $77 per month and includes ABC, ESPN and ESPN2. Up live news pageyou can enter your zip code under the heading “Can I watch local news in my area?” ask at the bottom of the page to see which local channels you get. Hulu Plus Live TV also includes Fox, FS1 and TBS for the remainder of the playoffs and World Series. Read our Hulu Plus Live TV review.
YouTube TV costs $73 per month and includes ABC, ESPN and ESPN2. Enter your zip code on YouTube TVs welcome page to see which local networks are available in your area. YouTube TV also includes Fox, FS1 and TBS for the remainder of the playoffs and World Series.
Read our YouTube TV review.
DirecTV Stream’s $80 per month basic entertainment package includes ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2. You can use it channel lookup tool to see what local channels are available where you live. DirecTV Stream also includes Fox, FS1 and TBS for the remainder of the playoffs and World Series. Read our DirecTV Stream review.
Fubo’s basic subscription costs $80 per month and includes ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2, but Fubo charges RSN costs (either $12 per month if you get one RSN, or $15 per month if you have two or more in your area), which increases the monthly amount to $92 or $95. Fubo is currently offering $30 off on for the first month of some of its plans, meaning you can get the basic Pro plan for $62 or $65 to start. Click here to see which local channels you receive.
Fubo also includes Fox and FS1, but NL fans will be disappointed to learn that it doesn’t offer TBS for the NLDS and NLCS. Read our Fubo review.
All of the above live TV streaming services offer free trial periods, you can cancel them at any time and they require a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our guide to live TV streaming services.
