The Cleveland Guardians have made a signature late-season push and hold a playoff spot entering play on Friday night, Sept. 18. There’s just 10 days left in the MLB regular season.
The Guardians, though, have left one thing to chance more than they would’ve liked: Tiebreakers.
Major League Baseball used to contest epic Game 163s to determine who would earn a playoff spot in case of a tie.
That’s no longer what happens. First, MLB looks at head-to-head records. If teams have an identical overall record but one has a better head-to-head mark against the other, it’s that head-to-head victor who gets into the postseason.
It doesn’t matter every year, but given the close quarters in the American League division and wild card races, it could matter for the AL, and in particular for the Guardians.
Because as it turns out, the Guardians hold pretty much no tiebreakers.
Guardians-White Sox Tiebreaker
The Chicago White Sox hold the tiebreaker with the Guardians if they finish tied atop the AL Central Division.
Cleveland beat Chicago in their season series finale on Wednesday in dramatic fashion, and that was enough to move the Guardians into first place, but it wasn’t enough to claim the tiebreaker.
The White Sox took the 13-game season series by a 7-6 margin. They’d beat the Guardians out for the division title if the teams finished with the same record.
Guardians-Rangers Tiebreaker
If the Guardians don’t win the AL Central Division, they then have to try and hold onto the third-and-final AL wild card spot, with two teams from the AL East likely to occupy the first and second spots in those wild card standings.
The Texas Rangers are one of the teams in the running for such a position, as well, and they hold the tiebreaker over the Guardians.
Cleveland and Texas played six times this season, and the Rangers won four of those games to edge them out in the head-to-head mark at 4-2.
Guardians-Blue Jays Tiebreaker
Toronto is the other team that could still put up a fight for the last wild card spot.
The Blue Jays also hold the tiebreaker over the Guardians, so if they tied for a wild card spot, Toronto would finish ahead of Cleveland.
The teams had split their first four games they played this season, but then on Sept. 2 and Sept. 3, the Blue Jays won 11-0 and 6-3 to take the season series 4-out-of-6.
What This Means for Guardians
Simply put, the Guardians have to end up one game better than any team they’re trying to beat out in one of these races, otherwise they’ll lose out via a tiebreaker.
Cleveland is capable, and with a lead in the AL Central entering Sept. 18, technically controls its own destiny.
But these are fine margins, and the last week-and-a-half of the season is sure to have some twists and turns involved that could make things very interesting.
Guardians Have a Tiebreaker Problem