Both the Chicago Cubs and the White Sox could clinch playoff spots Wednesday.
The Cubs had a few chances to punch their playoff ticket Tuesday, but fell short. Although the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Colorado Rockies in Denver, the Cubs lost 8-2 to the Miami Marlins in extra innings at Wrigley Field.
At Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City Tuesday, the White Sox beat the Royals 14-11. At the same time, the Texas Rangers slipped back into second place in the American League.
Both Chicago teams play at 6:40 p.m. Wednesday, but their fates will also depend on what happens at other games in the National and American Leagues.
Here’s a breakdown of how it could all shake out.
National League Wild Card standings
Chicago Cubs 87-70
Philadelphia Phillies 87-70
San Diego Padres 87-70
Arizona Diamondbacks 83-74 (4 GB)
American League Central standings:
Cleveland Guardians 82-75
Chicago White Sox 81-76 (1 GB)
American League Wild Card standings:
New York Yankees 90-67
Boston Red Sox 84-73
Chicago White Sox 81-76
Texas Rangers 78-79 (3 GB)
What’s the Cubs’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot?
The Cubs’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot remains at one after their loss to Miami and the Diamondbacks’ win over the Rockies in Denver.
That means if the Cubs can win Wednesday’s game, or if the Diamondbacks lose to the Rockies, then Chicago would officially punch its ticket into the playoffs.
What’s the White Sox’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot?
Thanks to the Rangers losing on Tuesday and the Astros winning their game against the Seattle Mariners, the White Sox can clinch a playoff spot as soon as Wednesday night.
That’s because the White Sox won their season series against the Rangers to secure a tiebreaker. The Astros won the season series against both Chicago and Texas, giving Houston the tiebreaker edge in the American League West.
As a result, a White Sox win over the Kansas City Royals and a Rangers loss to the New York Mets would clinch a playoff berth for the White Sox on Wednesday night.
Can the White Sox still catch the Guardians?
The White Sox would reach the playoffs by either winning the division or earning a wild card berth if they can reduce their magic number of two to zero Wednesday night, but they would undoubtedly prefer to claim the American League Central crown.
Unfortunately for the White Sox, the Guardians have been on a six-game winning streak to maintain a one-game lead in the Central Division. Fortunately for the White Sox, they own a tiebreaker over Cleveland, so if they finish the regular season with an identical record to the Guardians, they would win the division title, leaving Cleveland with the wild card.
That could prove to be important, as it’s growing increasingly likely that the Central Division champs will finish with the second-best record among division winners in the American League, giving them a bye into the American League Division Series. The wild card winner between the Guardians and White Sox would in all likelihood earn the third and final wild card spot, and would have to play a Wild Card Series against the winner of the American League West.
Why are so many teams tied in the National League?
Thanks to the Phillies beating the Milwaukee Brewers and the Padres losing to the Los Angeles Dodgers, there is a three-way tie at the top of the National League wild card standings with five games remaining in the season.
The good news for the Cubs is that they own tiebreakers over both the Phillies and Padres, meaning if they were to finish in a tie with either team they would move ahead of them in the standings. Currently, that means the Cubs would host a Wild Card Series at Wrigley Field, with a best-of-three series against the Phillies.
The Phillies own a tiebreaker over the Padres in the National League, meaning San Diego would have to finish ahead of both Chicago and Philadelphia in order to host a playoff series at Petco Park.
What’s next for the Cubs
The Cubs will have two more games against the Marlins at Wrigley Field before they head to the East Coast to face the Boston Red Sox to finish up the regular season.
The Phillies have two more games against the Brewers before they welcome the Tampa Bay Rays to the City of Brotherly Love to wrap up the regular season.
The Padres will have two more road games against the Dodgers before they head home to face the Diamondbacks for a three-game series to wrap up the regular season.
Arizona will have to pray for a miracle as they finish a series against the Rockies then face the Padres at Petco Park.
What’s next for the White Sox
After the final two games of their series against the Royals, the White Sox will wrap up their regular season with a three-game home series against the Colorado Rockies.
The Guardians will finish a three-game series against the Red Sox, then will head to Kansas City to face the Royals for the final three games of the regular season.
The Astros will play two more games against the Mariners in Seattle, then will head down the coast to face the Athletics to wrap up the regular season.
Texas will hope to bounce back in their final two games against the Mets at home, then they’ll finish the regular season with a three-game road series against the Minnesota Twins.
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