Should Detroit Tigers worry about Cleveland Guardians in AL Central?
On “Days of Roar,” Cleveland Guardians beat writer Paul Hoynes checks in about the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central race with two weeks remaining.
With the MLB postseason quickly approaching, the Cleveland Guardians‘ have a new magic number ahead of their final two three-game series of the regular season.
With six games left to play, the Guardians hold the last wild card spot in the American League. They are tied with the Houston Astros record-wise but hold the tiebreaker with a 4-2 head-to-head record.
Sitting at 84-72, the Guardians additionally are one game back of the Detroit Tigers for the American League Central division. In their past 11 games, the Guardians are 10-1 and recently swept the Tigers while on the road. Cleveland will finish its season with two more homestands: a three-game series against the Tigers starting Sept. 23 and a three-game series against the Texas Rangers starting Sept. 26.
Keep reading to find out what a magic number is and what the Cleveland Guardians’ magic number is to make the 2025 MLB postseason.
What is a magic number in Major League Baseball?
In MLB, the phrase “magic number” is the result of a formula used to determine how close team is to clinching either a playoff spot or a division title. The number itself is the combination of team wins and opponent losses by the closest competitor to clinch a specific playoff spot or division title.
With six games remaining on their schedule, the Guardians still have a magic number in play for both the division title and clinching the playoffs.
Formula to determine magic number: (Total games played in a season) +1 – (Total wins for Team A – total losses for Team B).
What is the magic number for the Cleveland Guardians to make the 2025 MLB postseason?
The Cleveland Guardians’ magic number to clinch the MLB postseason is 6. The Guardians currently hold the third-place wild card with a tiebreaker over the Astros, who share an identical record.
The 6 refers to the toal of Guardians wins and Astros losses that would solidify Cleveland a wild cart spot. For example, if Houston does not lose any of their six remaining games, the only way for Cleveland to punch their ticket is to win all six of their remaining games.
Detroit holds a one-game lead over Cleveland for the AL Central, and hold a magic number of 6 over Cleveland for the division Before their three game series starting on Sept. 23, the Guardians lead the season series 6-4. If the Tigers win out and the Guardians lose out, the Guardians are mathematically blocked from winning the division.