Guardians, Dodgers, Phillies Each 1 Win Away From Clinching Playoff Spots

The Cleveland Guardians, Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies each have a magic number of one entering Thursday's action, putting them on the verge of the postseason.

Sep 18, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor (22) celebrates his solo home run with catcher Bo Naylor (23) in the second inning against the Minnesota Twins at Progressive Field. / David Richard-Imagn Images

After the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Mets punched their tickets to the postseason on Wednesday, a handful of teams could join them on Thursday.

The Cleveland Guardians entered their afternoon showdown against the Minnesota Twins at 88-65, 6.0 games up in the AL Central. That puts them 7.5 games ahead of the Twins and 8.0 games ahead of the Detroit Tigers in the AL Wild Card race with nine games to go.

A win on Thursday would cement them above both challengers, clinching the Guardians a playoff spot for the sixth time in nine years.

Cleveland and Minnesota are currently tied 2-2 in the seventh inning.

Like the Guardians, the Los Angeles Dodgers' magic number is also one.

Los Angeles currently holds the No. 2 seed in the National League at 90-62, although the San Diego Padres are only 3.0 games back in the NL West. Still, the Dodgers are 6.0 games up on the New York Mets and 8.0 games ahead of the Atlanta Braves in the Wild Card race.

Because the Mets and Braves have three games against each other remaining on the schedule, the Dodgers only need to win one more game to assure they can't fall behind both of them. New York and Atlanta both losing on Thursday could also secure Los Angeles' playoff spot.

The Dodgers face the Miami Marlins at 4:40 p.m. ET.

The last team that can clinch a playoff spot on Thursday is the Philadelphia Phillies, who face the Mets at 7:15 p.m. ET.

Philadelphia leads the NL East at 91-61, which is 7.0 games better than the Mets and 9.0 games better than the Braves. If the Phillies beat the Mets on Thursday, they will lock themselves into the playoff picture, regardless of what happens between the Braves and Cincinnati Reds.

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