With under a dozen games left in the regular season, total chaos is breaking out in the American League playoff picture.
That's nothing new to Minnesota Twins fans who have been living in the Cone of Silence for the past month. The Twins have turned in an absolutely gnarly stretch of baseball, losing 11 out of 19 games since August 17th while the Detroit Tigers have surged back into contention.
For all the hate the AL Central has gotten over the last few seasons, it's going to be a division that sends three teams to the postseason -- it's just a matter of which ones find a chair when the music stops.
For the first time in a month, that's looking like it could be the Twins.
Updated AL Wild Card standings after the Twins beat Guardians 4-1
Minnesota watched its lead in the AL Wild Card standings shrink to just 1.5 games, which is where it still stands but with a bit more confidence than before.
A 4-1 victory over the Cleveland Guardians helped that along, especially given how the Twins pulled out a win. Griffin Jax redeemed himself after blowing a lead the night before, Willi Castro launched a two-run homer that gave the team some cushion, and Minnesota finally had the type of game we've been waiting far too long to see.
Everything that happened on Tuesday created a bizarre good news-bad news situations that perfectly illustrates the current postseason chaos.
The bad news is the Twins failed to get more distance from Detroit, who beat the Kansas City Royals in extra innings. However, that means Minnesota gained ground and are now just 1.5 games out of the No. 5 seed.
Here's how things stand:
Team | Record | GB |
|---|---|---|
Baltimore Orioles | 84-67 | +4 |
Kansas City Royals | 82-70 | +1.5 |
Minnesota Twins | 80-71 | -- |
Detroit Tigers | 79-73 | 1.5 |
Seattle Mariners | 77-73 | 4 |
Boston Red Sox | 75-76 | 5 |
The Twins have two more games against the Guardians, while the Tigers finish their series in Kansas City tomorrow night. That means if all goes well, Minnesota could head out to Boston ahead of the Royals in the Wild Card standings, as the Twins own a tiebreaker over Kansas City.
Detroit would still be an object closer than it appears in the Twins' rearview, but the Tigers would present a more immediate threat to the Royals. Minnesota controls its own destiny, though, and has a Magic Number of just 10 after Tuesday's win.
There are only 11 games left in the season, and we have absolutely no idea who will end up punching Wild Card tickets in the American League. That's both thrilling and terrifying, but at the very least the Twins are finally looking competent at the exact right time.
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