On Sept. 10, the Cleveland Guardians were 9.5 games back of the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central, a race that most had already called in favor of Detroit. Suddenly, the Guardians have a magic number to win the division.

After a 5-2 win on Sept. 23 against ace pitcher Tarik Skubal, the Guardians have miraculously tied the Tigers atop the AL Central and control the head-to-head tie breaker (7-4 against the Tigers in 2025), putting them technically in possession of first place. The last time the Tigers were not in sole possession of first place was April 23, almost exactly five months ago.

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The Guardians, sitting at 86-72, swept the Tigers on the road last week. Cleveland will finish its season by continuing its homestand against the Tigers, followed by a three-game home 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” refers to a formula used to determine how close a team is to clinching either a playoff spot or a division title. It represents the combination of a team’s wins and its closest competitor’s losses needed to clinch.

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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 win the AL Central in 2025?

The Cleveland Guardians’ magic number to clinch the AL Central is 5. The Guardians currently hold the division lead despite an identical record to the Tigers’ because they possess the tiebreaker in head-to-head record against Detroit.

Five refers to the total of Guardians wins and Tigers losses that would solidify a Cleveland division title. For example, if Detroit wins out, the only way for Cleveland to win the AL Central would be to win all five of their remaining games. If Detroit loses one of its next five games, Cleveland would need to go 4-1 in their last five games for the division, and so forth.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Cleveland Guardians’ magic number to win the AL Central over Detroit