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The Guardians' magic number and decisive scenarios for the playoffs, AL Central Division 2024

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Guardians' magic number to win the American League Central Division championship dropped again Friday thanks to a 5-1 win over St. Louis at Busch Stadium and Kansas City's 2-1 loss to the Giants.

With the win, the Guardians have the opportunity to win the division title with a win against the Cardinals on Saturday.

The Guardians (90-65) extended their lead over the second-place Royals (82-72) in the Central Division standings to 7 1/2 games with seven regular-season games remaining.

Kyle Manzardo of the Guardians celebrates his solo home run

Kyle Manzardo of the Guardians celebrates his solo home run in the first inning of the baseball game between the Cleveland Guardians and the Minnesota Twins at Progressive Field on Thursday, September 19, 2024. David Petkiewicz, cleveland.comDavid Petkiewicz, cleveland.com

What is the magic number of the Guardians?

Cleveland's magic number to win the AL Central fell to 1 over the Royals. Any combination of Guardians wins and losses by the second-place team (currently the Royals) that equals 1 will give Cleveland its 12th AL Central Division title in franchise history.

The Guardians' magic number to secure one of the top two spots in the American League and thus a first-round bye and an automatic spot in the AL Division Series is 3 against Houston (82-70).

How do you calculate the MLB magic numbers?

To calculate a team's magic number, take the total number of games played in a season (162) and add one (162 + 1 = 163). Then subtract your team's total number of wins (Cleveland = 90 wins) and the second-place team's total number of losses (Kansas City = 72). That gives you the magic number to win the division: 163 – 90 – 72 = 1.

By Vanessa

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