The White Sox have a chance to clinch their first postseason berth since 2021 on Wednesday, and the path couldn't be much simpler.
Brenton Doyle, Chase Meidroth, Randal Grichuk and Munetaka Murakami each hit home runs as the Chicago White Sox scored 14 runs and pulled away for a win over the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night.
Despite a late pitching implosion, with Trevor Richards and Luis Castillo allowing seven runs over the final two innings, Chicago held on for a 14-11 win and is now knocking on the door of the playoffs.
The White Sox remain firmly in the playoff picture, even though they're finding it difficult to gain ground on the Cleveland Guardians, who have won six games in a row and have refused to relinquish the top spot in the AL Central.
Cleveland's last loss came last Monday against the White Sox. But after mounting comeback efforts on two consecutive days to win that series, the Guardians swept the Athletics and took the first game of their series against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
The division crown remains of the utmost importance. It's not just about the bragging rights that come with being division champions. Winning the AL Central would send the White Sox directly to the ALDS, allowing them to bypass an entire round of the playoffs while giving the pitching staff some much-needed extra rest.
With five games remaining on the schedule, the path is simple. The White Sox need to outperform the Guardians by one game the rest of the way.
Regardless of what happens on the division front, though, a playoff appearance is looking more and more likely for the White Sox as the days go by. Entering play on Tuesday, the White Sox had a playoff magic number of four (4). After the latest scores from around Major League Baseball went final, there's now a scenario in which the White Sox could clinch a playoff spot on Wednesday.
How the White Sox Can Clinch
If the White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals and the Texas Rangers lose to the New York Mets, Chicago will have officially clinched a postseason berth, and the celebration can begin.
Texas is still alive in the AL West, but another loss would drop the Rangers to 78-80, while a win would give the White Sox their 82nd victory of the season. Even if the Rangers were to win out and the White Sox lost out the rest of the way, both teams would finish with an 82-80 record, and Chicago holds the tiebreaker over Texas.
The math is simple: One more White Sox win combined with one more Rangers loss, and the White Sox are going to the playoffs.
The division remains the top priority. That race may come down to the wire, but punching their ticket to the postseason would obviously alleviate some of the pressure on these players over the final weekend. And it could be less than 24 hours away, with the White Sox closing in on their first playoff berth since 2021.
It would also make the White Sox the first team in MLB history to lose 100+ games in back-to-back seasons and then make the postseason the following year.
To make the turnaround even more remarkable, the White Sox didn't just lose 100 games in back-to-back seasons. Try three straight seasons, including a historically disastrous 2024 campaign in which they set the modern MLB record for losses in a single season.
