After Sunday win, here's a look at the Twins' playoff chances
A 3-0 win for the Twins (73-73) over the Guardians (79-67) on Sunday pulled them back within six game of first place in the AL Central, but their playoff hopes remain on life support.
Joe Ryan threw 7.2 innings and allowed just three hits. Over his past two starts, he's allowed three hits and no runs in 14.2 innings, lowering his ERA from 4.05 to 3.61.
According to FanGraphs, the Twins have a 1.1% chance to make the playoffs. That 1.1% is made up of 1% to win the division and .1% chance to claim a wild card spot. Not only are the Twins chasing the Guardians, they're also behind the White Sox (76-71), who are just 3.5 games behind Cleveland.
Knowing how dire the situation is for Minnesota, here are the scenarios that would miraculously give the Twins the outright division title.
If the Twins go 16-0 and finish 89-73, they win the division if the Guardians go 9-7 or worse AND the White Sox go 12-3 or worse.
If the Twins go 15-1 and finish 88-74, they win the division if the Guardians go 8-8 or worse AND the White Sox go 11-4 or worse.
If the Twins go 14-2 and finish 87-75, they win the division if the Guardians go 7-9 or worse AND the White Sox go 10-5 or worse.
If the Twins go 13-3 and finish 86-76, they win the division if the Guardians go 6-10 or worse AND the White Sox go 9-6 or worse.
If the Twins go 12-4 and finish 85-77, they win the division if the Guardians go 5-11 or worse AND the White Sox go 8-7 or worse.
If the Twins go 11-5 and finish 84-78, they win the division if the Guardians go 4-12 or worse AND the White Sox go 7-8 or worse.
If the Twins go 10-6 and finish 83-79, they win the division if the Guardians go 3-13 or worse AND the White Sox go 6-9 or worse.
If the Twins go 9-7 and finish 82-80, they win the division if the Guardians go 2-14 or worse AND the White Sox go 5-10 or worse.
If the Twins go 8-8 and finish 81-81, they win the division if the Guardians go 1-15 or worse AND the White Sox go 4-11 or worse.
If the Twins go 7-9 and finish 80-82, they win the division if the Guardians go 0-16 AND the White Sox go 3-12 or worse.
One thing the Twins have going for them is a schedule that still has them seeing the White Sox six times while mixing in the lowly Royals, Angels and Tigers.
After Monday's game between the Twins and Guardians, the Guardians face the White Sox and Rays before finishing the regular season with a six-game series at home against the Royals.
Title: Bring Me The Sports co-owner, editor Email: joe@bringmethenews.com Twitter: @JoeBMTN Education: Southwest Minnesota State University Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota Expertise: All things Minnesota sports Nelson has covered Minnesota sports for two decades, starting his media career in sports radio. He worked at small market Minnesota stations in Marshall and St. Cloud before joining one of the nation's highest-rated sports stations, KFAN-FM 100.3 in the Twin Cities. There, he was the producer of the top-rated mid-morning sports show with Minnesota Vikings announcer Paul Allen. His radio experience helped blossom a career as a sports writer, joining Minneapolis-based Bring Me The News in 2011. Nelson and Adam Uren became co-owners of Bring Me The News in 2018 and have since more than tripled the site's traffic and launched Bring Me The Sports in cooperation with the Sports Illustrated/FanNation umbrella. Nelson has covered the Super Bowl and numerous training camps, NFL combines, the MLB All-Star Game and Minnesota playoff games, in addition to the day-to-day happenings on and off the field of play. Nelson also has extensive knowledge of non-sports subjects, including news and weather. He works closely with Bring Me The News meteorologist Sven Sundgaard to produce a bevy of weather and climate information for Minnesota readers. Nelson helped launch and manage the Bring Me The News Radio Network, which provided more than 50 radio stations around Minnesota with daily news, sports and weather reports from 2011-17.