The Cleveland Guardians won again on Sunday and ended up taking the last two games of the four-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays after dropping the first two.
Cleveland’s record is now an impressive 86-64, first in the AL Central with a four-game cushion and second in the American League behind the 87-63 New York Yankees.
The two weekend wins against Tampa put the Guardians in a very good position to punch their ticket to the postseason this week, possibly within the next three or four days if things break right for them.
According to Guardians analyst and former pitcher Jensen Lewis, their magic number to make the postseason is down to three.
.@CleGuardians fans:
1️⃣2️⃣ games left
🪄Magic No.🪄 menu #ForTheLand3️⃣: Playoff spot
DET @ KC
SEA, BOS off9️⃣: Top 2 seed
HOU @ SD9️⃣: AL Central
DET @ KC
MIN @ CLECurrent AL playoff seeding:
1) NYY
2) CLE, 1 GB5) KC at 4) BAL
6) MIN at 3) HOU pic.twitter.com/t52HR1cH5y— Jensen Lewis (@JLEWFifty) September 16, 2024
There are no off days for Cleveland this week: on Monday, they will be starting a four-game set with the Minnesota Twins.
Three wins will be enough for them to seal their playoff ticket without depending on other results.
After a nightmarish 2023 in which they finished below .500 and missed the postseason, the Guardians have taken a huge step forward as an organization.
They developed quality depth, key young players made strides and earned prominent MLB roles, and they added to their prospect ranks.
Now, they are just a few days away, barring a disaster, from returning to October.
Their magic number to secure a first-round bye (top two in the AL) is nine with the Houston Astros being the team to watch.
The recipe to take the AL Central division is also nine wins or Kansas City Royals losses.
There are 12 games left to play in the regular season.
NEXT: Guardians Trade Acquisition Is Red-Hot At The Plate
