Carlos Correa #4 of the Minnesota Twins celebrates with manager Rocco Baldelli #5 following game two of the Division Series against the Houston Astros on October 8, 2023 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Brace Hemmelgarn/Minnesota Twin …
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Twins got a late two-run homer from Willi Castro in a 4-1 win over the Cleveland Guardians Tuesday night to improve to 80-71 on the season.
The Twins’ magic number to clinch a spot in the American League Playoffs is nine. With 11 games to go, they are currently in the No. 3 wild card spot.
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What it means
It means the Twins need a combination of nine wins, or losses by the team closest behind them in the AL Wild Card standings. The Twins are currently 1.5 games behind the Kansas City Royals for the No. 2 Wild Card spot. They are four games behind the Baltimore Orioles for the top spot.
The Twins are 6.5 games behind the Cleveland Guardians for the AL Central lead, so winning the division is next to impossible with just 11 regular season games left. The Twins need to match wins with Detroit Tigers losses to reduce their magic number. The Tigers are 1.5 games behind the Twins for the final Wild Card spot, but the Twins have a tiebreaker on Detroit.
What’s next
The Twins have two more games in Cleveland Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon before heading to Boston for a three-game series. The Red Sox are five games out of the final Wild Card spot. The Twins close out the regular season with a six-game home stand, three against the Miami Marlins and three against the Orioles. It’s very likely the Twins could clinch a Wild Card spot during that home stand.
The Tigers finish a series at Kansas City Wednesday night, have a three-game set this weekend at Baltimore and close out the regular season with a six-game home stand against Tampa Bay and the Chicago White Sox.
Playoff picture
If the season ended today, the Twins would be the No. 6 seed in the AL Playoffs and would face the Houston Astros on the road in a best-of-three series to advance to the AL Division Series. The Twins won the AL Central last year, won their first playoff game in 19 tries and won their first playoff series in more than two decades. Then, the team slashed payroll, didn’t make many offseason moves and didn’t do anything at the trade deadline to improve the roster. They’ve dealt with injuries all season, and are now fighting for their playoff lives.
If they can just get there, anything can happen.