Game update: With their win over the Rangers — on a walkoff HBP — the Guardians have clinched a playoff spot.
MLB playoff picture: What does Rangers-Guardians mean for AL playoffs?
What does Rangers-Guardians mean for the AL playoffs?
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Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
However, Detroit’s win over Boston, the AL Central title will come down to the final day of play.
The 2025 Major League Baseball season begins its final weekend of play today.
And with three teams battling for two spots in the American League, two teams fighting for the final spot in the National League, and a host of division titles and seedings left to determine, the final weekend of play could be one for the ages.
Perhaps the biggest story entering the weekend comes courtesy of the Cleveland Guardians. Left buried in July when they were 15.5 games out in the AL Central, the Guardians are currently tied with the Detroit Tigers atop the division, and hold the critical tiebreaker over their rivals.
That means the Guardians can complete the biggest comeback in MLB history this weekend.
Let’s dive into the playoff implications for their game tonight against the Texas Rangers.
Rangers’ playoff picture
The Texas Rangers have an 81-79 record heading into Saturday, but have already been eliminated from the playoffs.
Guardians’ playoff picture
As noted above, the Guardians were 15.5 games out in the AL Central in early July, but they begin the final weekend of play tied with the Tigers in the division, and sitting ahead of them thanks to having clinched the season series over Detroit.
Still, the Guardians have not clinched a playoff spot yet. But they control their own destiny in that regard.
Their magic number for the AL Central crown is two, meaning any combination of Guardians wins and Tigers losses that adds up to two earns them the AL Central title. So if the Tigers lose to the Boston Red Sox on Saturday and the Guardians defeat the Rangers tonight, Cleveland is the AL Central champion. Or, if the Guardians win their final two games, they win the division regardless of how the Tigers fare in their final two games.
Even easier is the path for Cleveland to a Wild Card spot. There, Cleveland’s magic number is just one, as the Guardians have clinched a tiebreaker over the Houston Astros. A win over the Rangers, or an Astros’ loss to the Los Angeles Angels, and the Guardians are at least in the playoffs as a Wild Card team.
Cleveland’s only potential slot as a Wild Card team is at the No. 6 spot, as they cannot catch the Boston Red Sox in the standings.
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