For the first time in five years, the Chicago Cubs are in the postseason as they face the San Diego Padres Tuesday for Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series .

The first game, set for 2:08 p.m. CT, will take place at Wrigley Field . Once the series closes out, the winner will face the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Division Series.

As the series gets under way, here's how it works, new rules to know about and more.

How MLB's new playoff format works

Major League Baseball in 2022 introduced a new playoff format that added an extra wild card team to each league, and additional wild card series to the postseason schedule.

Under that format, a total of six teams from each league reach the postseason. Of the three division winners, the top two teams receive byes into the Divis

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