The Cleveland Guardians lost a narrow 1-0 game to the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night, delaying their qualification to the 2026 MLB postseason by at least one day. Still, they are in a very good position to punch their ticket to October this week, and it could happen as soon as Thursday.
The 82-76 Guardians are still one game ahead of the 81-77 Chicago White Sox, who lost 5-4 to the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday. The Pale Hose currently hold the third and final Wild Card spot, followed by the 78-80 Texas Rangers and the 78-81 Baltimore Orioles.
The Rangers are also fighting neck and neck with the Houston Astros for the AL West division. They are tied at the top with that 78-80 record, but Houston owns the tiebreaker.
How can the Guardians seal their ticket to postseason baseball on Thursday? It’s very simple.
“The way they can clinch tonight is with a win, or a Rangers loss to the Mets, or an Astros loss to the A’s, so one of three things can happen tonight, and you’re in. You’re 99.9% sure to get into the playoffs,” The Tony Rizzo Show co-host Chris Oldach said.
The Guardians magic number to reach the playoffs is 1.
Do you think they'll win the AL Central? pic.twitter.com/zMrBflDgBx
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) September 24, 2026
The Guardians are pretty much 99.9 percent in, as Oldach suggests, but they need to make it official, and it may happen on Thursday night. If they win, they’re in, but even if they lose, they could make the playoffs with a loss by either the Astros or the Rangers.
Of course, the Guardians still have things to fight for. If they can beat the White Sox for that AL Central title, it’s very likely that they will earn a first-round bye and enter the playoffs directly in the Division Series, as opposed to risking elimination in the best-of-three Wild Card round.
If they win the AL Central and can finish with a better record than the AL West champs, the Guardians will be the second seed in the junior circuit and bypass the Wild Card round entirely. That’s definitely worth playing hard for the rest of the week.
As an important reminder, Cleveland needs to finish above the White Sox if they want that third straight division title. A tie at the top would give Chicago the AL Central, because they own the tiebreaker.
NEXT: Analyst Reveals One Stat That Defines Parker Messick's Season
