How to watch the White Sox and Cubs open their wild-card series Tuesday

Chicago baseball fans can plan for two postseason openers Tuesday, with the White Sox playing at 4 p.m. and the Cubs following at 9 p.m. Major League Baseball announced the schedule Sunday, giving viewers an afternoon start for the South Side team and a late-night slot for the North Side team.

The White Sox will face the Astros in Houston, while the Cubs will play the Padres in San Diego. Those same viewing windows carry over to Game 2: the Sox are scheduled for 4 p.m. again, and the Cubs for 9 p.m. Both Chicago clubs will begin their postseason series on the road.

Peacock and NBC Sports Network will carry the first two games of each series. For fans checking their television options before Tuesday, NBC Sports Network is available through Xfinity, YouTube TV and Fubo. Television arrangements for any necessary third games had not yet been determined in the announcement.

There is also a familiar voice expected on the White Sox broadcast. Steve Stone told The Score that he would work as an analyst for the series. The complete broadcast teams were still awaiting announcement in the supplied schedule report, so that detail should not be treated as a full listing of the booth personnel.

Start times for a deciding Game 3 will depend on how many wild-card series across baseball still need to be settled. If all four series reach a third game, the Sox would retain their 4 p.m. slot and the Cubs their 9 p.m. slot. With three series remaining, the Sox could play at either 1 p.m. or 4 p.m., while the Cubs could start at either 7 p.m. or 9 p.m.

If only two series remain, the announced possibilities put the Sox at 1 p.m. and the Cubs at either 7 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. If the Chicago teams are the only clubs whose series require a third game, the Sox would play at 1 p.m. and the Cubs at 7 p.m. For local viewers, the first two games offer firm planning times, but a potential deciding game will require another schedule check.