While the Minnesota Twins didn't manage to pull off a sweep of the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday, the loss didn't change the fact that the series victory clinched something important.
Minnesota claimed its season series over Kansas City this week, which is going to come in handy down the stretch of the season. Coming into the series on Monday, the Royals were just a half-game back of the Twins for second place in the AL Central. That lead as grown to 1.5 games, which is a significant cushion for Minnesota not only in the division but in the Wild Card race as well.
The work isn't done, as there's still a three-game series with the Royals on the horizon but for now the Twins can breathe a little easier than they could a few days ago.
Minnesota Twins magic number after winning season series over Royals
Now that we're midway through August, the Twins' magic number becomes more and more important with each passing day.
We've still got a ways to go before things tighten up, but the Twins are hoping to watch at least one of thier magic numbers start to shrink more rapidly. Minnesota has two magic numbers to keep an eye on: one in the AL Central and the other for a Wild Card berth.
The latter will hapen first, as the Twins punching a ticket to the postseason will mean they either finish with the division title or a Wild Card berth and nothing less. Everyone in Twins Territory is watching the number attached to the AL Central crown, which is still just out of reach despite splitting a weekend series with Cleveland.
- Wild Card magic number: 37
- Game remaining: 42
Minnesota doesnt' control its own destiny right now in the AL Central, but the magic number there is roughly 47 after the series against Kansas City.
Right now the most logical thing to watch is the Wild Card race, as that at least guaruntees the Twins a postseason berth. Within that race, Minnesota has a few different magic numbers to pay attention to as each of the three spots are in play.
- Postseason Berth magic number: 37
- Wild Card - No. 5 seed magic number: 39
- Wild Card - No. 4 seed magic number: 42
Simply getting in guarintees the Twins nothing lower than the No. 6 seed, but they can clinch a higher seed before the season is over. Lest we forget the division is still very much in play with just 3.5 games seperating Minnesota from Cleveland, and now a little bit more of a buffer between Kansas City after the series this week.
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