The Chicago White Sox enter the final week of the regular season with a magic number of four and multiple paths to October.
While Friday night's loss to the Detroit Tigers was a tough one to stomach, and arguably the worst loss of the 2026 season given the circumstances and Chicago's 8-2 lead, it turned out to be a rather productive weekend for the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field.
The White Sox bounced back with victories on Saturday and Sunday, ultimately taking three of four from Detroit behind strong pitching performances from Sean Burke and Davis Martin.
With the series win, the White Sox reached 80 victories, improving to 80-76 with just six regular-season games remaining.
And while they lost ground in the AL Central and now sit a full game behind the Cleveland Guardians, the other results across Major League Baseball served the White Sox well. A postseason berth is starting to look more and more likely.
Just two three-game series remain for the White Sox. They'll be in Kansas City from Tuesday through Thursday to take on the Royals before returning home to Chicago on Friday to close out the regular season with three games against the Colorado Rockies.
Let's take an updated look at the White Sox playoff odds, the remaining schedules for their competition, their magic number to clinch a postseason berth and everything else you need to know entering the final week of the regular season.
AL Central Race
Entering play on Monday, the White Sox have a 37.2% chance to win the American League Central, according to the latest odds from FanGraphs. That's largely due to the Guardians' current one-game lead and the fact that Chicago needs Cleveland to slip up at some point to have a chance to gain ground.
Now having won five games in a row, Cleveland hasn't shown many signs of doing so. But the Guardians will face a rather challenging opponent this week, with a three-game series at Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox.
The good news for the White Sox is that they don't actually need to finish with a better record than Cleveland to win the division. They just need to tie them.
With a 7-6 advantage in the season series, the White Sox own the tiebreaker and would take home the AL Central crown if both teams finish with the same record. That means Chicago needs to gain exactly one game on Cleveland over the final six.
At this point, a division title would also likely come with a first-round bye and the No. 2 seed in the American League. The White Sox currently have a two-game advantage over the Texas Rangers, who lead the AL West, and Chicago also owns the tiebreaker over Texas.
That makes passing Cleveland about much more than bragging rights or an AL Central title. It could allow the White Sox to bypass the Wild Card Series entirely, earn several valuable days of rest and advance directly to the ALDS.
White Sox Playoff Magic Number
Even if Chicago isn't able to get that done, the playoffs are well within reach. FanGraphs gives the White Sox a 96.3% chance to make the postseason entering play on Monday, the highest their playoff odds have been all season.
The biggest reason for that optimism is a magic number that has dwindled to four.
The White Sox currently occupy the American League's final Wild Card spot, while the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros are both three games behind Chicago with only six remaining. If the White Sox simply take care of their own business and go 4-2 the rest of the way, neither Toronto nor Houston can catch them.
Chicago may not even need to wait that long. A series win over the Royals, combined with some help elsewhere in the American League, could theoretically allow the White Sox to clinch a postseason berth before they even return home to host Colorado for the final series of the regular season.
At that point, all attention could turn toward Cleveland and the race for the AL Central.
Who Should White Sox Fans Root For?
So where does that leave things this week? Who should White Sox fans be rooting for when they check scores across the league?
Apart from cheering on the White Sox themselves, it's obviously a good time to become a temporary Boston Red Sox fan. Boston has already clinched its spot in the American League playoff picture, but the Red Sox can do Chicago a major favor when they host Cleveland for three games at Fenway Park this week.
The AL West is also worth monitoring closely. The Texas Rangers host the New York Mets, while the Houston Astros head to Seattle. Losses from both Texas and Houston would benefit the White Sox, but if one of those teams has to win, Chicago would probably prefer it to be the Rangers.
Houston is directly chasing the White Sox for a Wild Card spot, while Texas winning the AL West would make Chicago's path to the No. 2 seed easier if the White Sox ultimately overtake Cleveland. The Rangers would also represent a more comfortable potential matchup for the White Sox in the Wild Card Series should Chicago fall short in the AL Central.
One final team to keep an eye on is the Toronto Blue Jays, who head to Baltimore. The Orioles are technically still alive in the Wild Card race themselves, but with an elimination number of just two, they're hanging by a thread. A few Baltimore wins could essentially knock Toronto out of the picture while pushing the White Sox another step closer to securing a Wild Card berth.
By the time the White Sox return to Chicago to play the Rockies, we should have a much clearer picture of where things stand and exactly what they'll need to do over the final weekend.
The division remains within reach, and a first-round bye could still be on the table. But even if neither happens, the White Sox have put themselves in an excellent position to play October baseball.
With only six games remaining, Chicago is creeping closer to its first postseason berth since 2021.
