It's MLB playoff time!
After a bonus Monday of action to decide the final two National League postseason spots, eight teams are in action today as the 2024 MLB playoffs begin with the best-of-three wild-card round.
The Game 1 action started with the Detroit Tigers defeating the Houston Astros and the Kansas City Royals followed with a shutout of the Baltimore Orioles. Then, in a game with multiple lead changes, the New York Mets came out on top over the Milwaukee Brewers.
We've got you covered with lineups, live updates and analysis as the games are played, followed by our takeaways after each final pitch.
Key links: Everything you need to know | Bracket | Picks | Watch on ESPN, ABC
Jump to: Live updates | Lineups, matchups
Live updates
Today's matchups
* All times Eastern
Detroit Tigers 3, Houston Astros 1
Detroit leads series 1-0
Before Jason Heyward sent a line drive whizzing into the glove of Spencer Torkelson, before the Astros' bats came alive in the final inning and before the Tigers teetered on the brink of losing their playoff opener in heartbreaking fashion, there was Tarik Skubal, the soon-to-be Cy Young winner, doing what he has done all year -- attacking with his fastball, perplexing with his changeup, befuddling with his slider and carrying an upstart team that nobody expected to see here. Skubal kept the potent Astros scoreless through six innings, scattering just four hits, walking one, striking out six and throwing 64 of his 88 pitches for strikes. He was struck in the wrist by a comebacker in the second inning, he dealt with cramping in his left side in the sixth, and none of it mattered. In his first postseason start, the best pitcher on the planet pitched like it.
One thing to know for Game 2: Tigers manager AJ Hinch promised "pitching chaos" after Skubal, and at the moment, there's pitching mystery. No announcement has been made, but Reese Olson seems a likely candidate -- to pitch the bulk of the innings, at least, with an opener coming in before him. The Astros will turn to young right-hander Hunter Brown, which means Yusei Kikuchi will follow in a potential Game 3. -- Alden Gonzalez
Kansas City Royals 1, Baltimore Orioles 0
Kansas City leads series 1-0
Cole Ragans pitched six scoreless innings, and the Royals' bullpen took it from there, with an RBI single by Bobby Witt Jr. plating the only run of Game 1 in Baltimore.
New York Mets 8, Milwaukee Brewers 4
New York leads series 1-0
The Mets were in clutch mode with their playoff-clinching classic win over Atlanta on Monday and they remained there a day later in Milwaukee. New York withstood Milwaukee's burst of early energy, clipping potentially huge innings off with limited damage. That was thanks to Luis Severino, who persisted through six innings despite allowing traffic all through his outing.
That was clutch enough but the Mets went way clutch in the fifth, registering five two-out runs against the dominant Milwaukee bullpen. New York went 5-for-7 with runners in scoring position overall. Almost everyone pitched in, but the key blows were Jesse Winker's thumb-nosing, two-run third-inning triple and Mark Vientos' two-run, go-ahead single in the fifth. Clutch all around.
One thing to know for Game 2: Now the Mets can end things on Wednesday when Sean Manaea takes to the mound looking to upend a lot of bad postseason history. In three playoffs outings for Oakland and San Diego, he went 0-3 with a 15.26 ERA. That's a lot of to upend -- but, then again, that's precisely the kind of history the Mets have been turning over since early in the season. -- Bradford Doolittle
Atlanta Braves at San Diego Padres, 8:30 p.m. on ESPN
Pitching matchup: AJ Smith-Shawver (0-0, 0.00 ERA vs. Michael King (13-9, 2.95 ERA)
Starting lineups:
Braves
CF -- Michael Harris II
2B -- Ozzie Albies
DH -- Marcell Ozuna
1B -- Matt Olson
RF -- Jorge Soler
LF -- Ramon Laureano
C -- Travis d'Arnaud
3B -- Gio Urshela
SS -- Orlando Arcia
Padres
DH -- Luis Arraez
RF -- Fernando Tatis Jr.
LF -- Jurickson Profar
3B -- Manny Machado
CF -- Jackson Merrill
SS -- Xander Bogaerts
2B -- Jake Cronenworth
1B -- Donovan Solano
C -- Kyle Higashioka