MLB League Championship Series 2026: Brewers lead the Dodgers 2-0 and Guardians lead the Rays 1-0, and the earliest either series can end

Three League Championship Series games were played at the higher seeds on Monday, October 12 and Tuesday, October 13, Korea time. National League top seed Milwaukee beat second seed Los Angeles 2-1 in Game 1 at 9 a.m. on October 12 (Sunday night, October 11 in the US) and 7-4 in Game 2 at 6 a.m. on October 13 to lead 2-0. In the American League, second seed Cleveland won Game 1 7-3 at top seed Tampa Bay at 9 a.m. on October 13 to lead 1-0. None of the three went to extra innings. ALCS Game 2 is in Tampa Bay at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, October 14, and NLCS Game 3 in Los Angeles at 9 a.m. on Thursday, October 15.

Every result and date here comes from the ESPN postseason data behind this site's postseason page and team pages. The cut-off is early Wednesday, October 14, Korea time: two NLCS games and one ALCS game are final, and ALCS Game 2 has not been played. Dates and times are Korea time, with the US date added where it helps. When each series can end was worked out by going through every way its remaining games can fall. This piece covers results and the arithmetic of the games left only.

Milwaukee-Dodgers. Game 1 was a one-run game, 2-1, and Game 2 finished 7-4. Milwaukee has outscored the Dodgers 9-5. Milwaukee is 5-1 in six games this postseason and 4-0 at home, counting Games 1 and 2 of the Division Series and of this series. Its only loss was Division Series Game 3 in San Diego. The Dodgers, 3-1 winners of their Division Series, are now 3-3 this postseason.

The rest of the NLCS is Games 3 to 5 in Los Angeles and Games 6 and 7 in Milwaukee: Game 3 at 9 a.m. on Thursday, October 15, Game 4 at 10 a.m. on Friday, October 16, Game 5 at 10 a.m. on Saturday, October 17, Game 6 at 9 a.m. on Monday, October 19 and Game 7 at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, October 20, with Games 5 to 7 played only if needed. Milwaukee needs two more wins from the five games left and can lose up to three. The Dodgers need four more and can lose only one. If Milwaukee wins Games 3 and 4, the series ends in Los Angeles on October 16, the earliest day it can. Milwaukee can finish the series in Games 4 or 5 in Los Angeles or Games 6 or 7 at home. The Dodgers cannot finish it before Game 6 on October 19, and Games 6 and 7 are both in Milwaukee. To take the series the Dodgers must either win all three home games and one of the two in Milwaukee, or two of the three home games and both in Milwaukee. Either way the NLCS ends between Game 4 on Friday, October 16 and Game 7 on Tuesday, October 20.

Cleveland-Tampa Bay. Cleveland won Game 1 7-3 in Tampa Bay. After coming back from 0-2 down to beat the White Sox with three straight wins in the Division Series, Cleveland has now won four postseason games in a row and is 4-2 this postseason: 3-0 on the road and 1-2 at home. Tampa Bay, which skipped the Wild Card round and swept the Yankees 3-0 in the Division Series, lost for the first time this postseason and is 3-1. In the regular season Tampa Bay went 98-64 and Cleveland 85-77.

The rest of the ALCS is Game 2 in Tampa Bay at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, October 14; Games 3 and 4 in Cleveland at 7 a.m. on Friday, October 16 and Saturday, October 17, and Game 5 there at 9 a.m. on Sunday, October 18; and Games 6 and 7 back in Tampa Bay at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, October 20 and 9 a.m. on Wednesday, October 21. Games 5 to 7 are played only if needed. Cleveland needs three more wins from the six games left and can lose up to three. Tampa Bay needs four more and can lose only two. If Cleveland wins Games 2 to 4, the series ends at home on October 17, the earliest day it can. Cleveland can finish the series in Games 4 or 5 at home or Games 6 or 7 in Tampa Bay. Tampa Bay finishes it in Game 5 in Cleveland on October 18 if it wins Games 2 to 5, and otherwise has to finish it in Game 6 or 7 at home. If Cleveland wins Game 2 on October 14 it leads 2-0; if Tampa Bay wins it, the series is level at 1-1. Either way the ALCS ends between Game 4 on Saturday, October 17 and Game 7 on Wednesday, October 21.

Taken together, neither series can end before Friday, October 16. On October 16 there are NLCS Game 4 (10 a.m.) and ALCS Game 3 (7 a.m.), and on Saturday, October 17 ALCS Game 4 (7 a.m.) and NLCS Game 5 (10 a.m.). On Tuesday, October 20, NLCS Game 7 (9 a.m.) and ALCS Game 6 (6 a.m.) fall on the same day. If both series go the distance, the last game is ALCS Game 7 in Tampa Bay at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, October 21. Korea start times for every game are also on the schedule page.

Each club's page shows where it stands in the postseason. Playing in the League Championship Series are Milwaukee, the Dodgers, Cleveland and Tampa Bay. Every series and the bracket are on the postseason page. The Division Series results and the full League Championship Series schedule are in our previous piece, and the seeding and tiebreaker rules are in our explainer. This site's clinch and tragic numbers are a regular-season calculation and stay frozen at the final standings of September 28.