CLEVELAND — Despite suffering a 4-1 loss against the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night, the Cleveland Guardians' magic number for the MLB Playoffs has dropped.
The magic number for the Guardians to clinch the American League Central Division is now six after the Kansas City Royals lost to the Detroit Tigers in extra innings on Tuesday evening.
In addition, the Guardians kept their five-game lead over the second-place Royals.
With 10 games left in the regular season, any combination of Guardians wins and Royals losses equaling six would hand Cleveland the AL Central Division crown.
The Guardians also have a chance to clinch a postseason berth on Wednesday night.
Here's what would need to happen:
- Guardians win over Twins
- Tigers loss to Royals
- Mariners loss to Yankees
Finally, the Guardians' magic number to clinch one of the top two seeds in the American League, securing an automatic first-round bye and a spot in the AL Divison Series, is at seven.
The Guardians will look to bounce back on Wednesday night as they play in game three of a four-game series against the Twins. The first pitch is set for 6:40 p.m. at Progressive Field.
Tanner Bibee will be on the mound for the Guards and Bailey Ober will pitch for the Twins.
