The Cleveland Guardians made the postseason in 2022, won a playoff series in dramatic fashion and challenged the New York Yankees in a tough Division Series.
It was a truly successful year for Cleveland.
Last season, however, they finished with a 76-86 record and missed the party.
Returning to October is an organizational goal and the team is very close to securing it.
After Wednesday’s results, the Guardians magic number for a playoff spot is down to seven.
.@CleGuardians fans:
🪄Magic No.🪄 menu #ForTheLand
7️⃣: Playoff spot#RepDetroit v #Rockies#RedSox @ #RepBX #TridentsUp v #StraightUpTX
1️⃣1️⃣: Top 2 seed#Relentless v #Athletics
1️⃣2️⃣: AL Central#WelcomeToTheCity off today#MNTwins off today pic.twitter.com/hWdjEQWflN
— Jensen Lewis (@JLEWFifty) September 12, 2024
That means that any combination of Guardians wins and losses of the best-placed team with no postseason spot (in this case, the Detroit Tigers) will get the Guards one step closer from punching their ticket to October.
As Guardians insider Jensen Lewis made it clear on his post, Cleveland is also closely following its magic number for other two important goals: getting a top two seed and winning the division.
If the Guards finish with a top two seed in the American League, they will earn a first-round bye and will start their journey in the Division Series as opposed to the Wild Card round.
To get a top two spot, they need a combination of 11 victories and Houston Astros (the third-ranked division leader) losses.
Their magic number for the division, which they lead with a 4.5-game cushion after the New York Yankees walked off the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday, is now 12.
The Guardians might have their flaws, but they have been consistently great in 2024 and are very close to securing three organizational objectives that didn’t look particularly likely after the year they had in 2023.
NEXT: Guardians Overcome Three Fielding Errors To Sweep White Sox
