In a way, the first round of the postseason started Monday night in Major League Baseball — no matter that just under two weeks remain in the regular season.
The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees clinched postseason berths, again, and the Chicago White Sox took a big step toward securing theirs after losing at least 100 games for three straight seasons.
The White Sox, who were swooning in September and had lost most of their lead in the American League Central, rebounded with an outsized 7-3 victory against the host Cleveland Guardians in the opener of a three-game series.
The tide turned when Tristan Peters survived an 18-pitch at-bat against Gavin Williams with two outs in the sixth inning. Peters walk sparked a six-run outburst that broke open a scoreless tie.
Instead of falling out of first place, the White Sox moved 1 1/2 games ahead with 12 to play. They also won the season series from the Guardians, along with the tiebreaker that comes with it. Chicago reduced its magic number to win the division to 10, and nine for a postseason spot.
After losing so many games in recent years, not to mention the two-week dive to open the month, the White Sox probably would take any kind of playoff spot. But they’d rather win the division and be the No. 2 seed in the American League because it comes with a first-round postseason bye.
The White Sox gave themselves about 24 hours to enjoy it, because they still could leave town in second place if the Guardians win the next two. And Cleveland might need to win to just make the postseason. The Guardians have a precarious lead on the final AL Wild Card spot: They’re one game up the Toronto Blue Jays, 1 1/2 on the Texas Rangers, and 2 1/2 on the Houston Astros (if they slide behind the Rangers in the AL West).
The Dodgers and Yankees joined the Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays in the postseason field.
After beating the host Cincinnati Reds 4-1 behind left-hander Tarik Skubal, the Dodgers popped postseason alcohol for the 14th straight season. Their run ties the Atlanta Braves record from 1991-2005 (although there were no playoffs in ’94 because of the players strike). The Dodgers also have a magic number of three to win the AL West.
Despite not having slugger Aaron Judge for a third of the season, the Yankees clinched the playoffs for the third straight year and for the ninth time in 10 seasons after beating the Minnesota Twins 8-3. Because you can’t mention the Yankees without the Boston Red Sox, they have a magic number of six to clinch a playoff spot as the third team from the AL East. They lead the Blue Jays, the first team outside of the field currently, by 7 1/2 games.
After doing a little swooning themselves to start September with a 5-7 record, the Cubs beat the Braves 7-3 to improve their potential postseason position.
The Cubs lead the NL Wild Card pack, but they’re even with the Philadelphia Phillies in the loss column and one game ahead of the San Diego Padres. The Arizona Diamondbacks lurk on the outside, 2 1/2 behind, though the Cubs hold the season-series tiebreaker there.
The Cubs also still have a chance, in the most nominal way, of winning the NL Central. But the Brewers have a magic number of two and could clinch Tuesday.
The Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins remain alive, but they’re nearly out of time.
At the bottom of the American League barrel, only the Athletics and Los Angeles Angels have been eliminated. Still! The Kansas City Royals, who are 66-84, could have their chances snuffed as soon as Wednesday. Everyone else probably survives (technically) into the final week of the regular season.
Who has it better than literally any AL team?
