White Sox Magic Number Watch: Barely Hanging On Ahead of Guardians Series
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It's become all too common of a sight for the White Sox these days. When one thing works, at least one other thing doesn't.
That was the case in the Sox's 3-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. David Sandlin retired the first 16 batters, but a two-out error by Colson Montgomery in the bottom of the sixth inning immediately led to a bases-clearing double that provided all the offense the Cardinals needed. Meanwhile, the Sox wasted a leadoff triple by Sam Antonacci in the top of the sixth and stranded the bases loaded in the ninth.
So Sox fans can be forgiven if they don't want to hear about magic numbers when their team has lost five of their past six games. Many seem to be bracing for the collapse to be complete in the form of no playoffs. Never mind the fact that the Sox have led the AL Central for some time now.
Still, the Sox remain half a game in first place in the division. That makes their magic number to clinch it 13. If they win even one of the upcoming three games against the second-place Cleveland Guardians, they'll clinch the tiebreaker with them and thus knock that magic number down by three instead of the usual two in these divisional situations.
The Sox already have the tiebreaker with the Toronto Blue Jays, the first team out of the AL playoffs. If they wish to simply make the playoffs regardless of whether they win the division, their magic number to do so is 11. The Sox might get some help with that as the Jays are about to host the Detroit Tigers, who are on an AL-best four-game winning streak and desperate to keep their dwindling playoff hopes alive.
If you're looking for a reason to hope as the Sox visit the Guardians for the second and final time this season, their last visit there during Fourth of July weekend could suffice. After being walked off in the first two games of that series, they bounced back and won the next two.
As for this upcoming series, Sean Newcomb will open the first game of the series, and Sean Burke will likely follow him. Davis Martin has looked good in two starts since coming off the injured list, and he'll get the ball in the second game.
The bigger question right now is whether the offense will show up to Cleveland. Over the past seven days, the Sox are hitting an MLB-worst .185 and slugging an MLB-worst .312. Their .607 OPS is tied for the worst in MLB during that span.
It's gonna be nerve-wracking for sure, but it beats counting down the days until elimination and the end of the season.
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After nearly eight years on newspaper night desks, Geoffrey began a lengthy tenure with Fighting Irish Wire to cover Notre Dame athletics for USA TODAY. He continues covering the Irish and other college football stories for The Voice of College Football. He also covers prep sports for the Daily Herald and Chicagoland Soccer, writes about Chicago sports for Da Windy City and helps run Chicago Bulls Confidential. He received a bachelor's degree from North Central College in 2011 and a master's degree from DePaul University in 2016. He hosts a World Series history podcast and hopes to visit every MLB stadium, so far having checked off 20 current ballparks and four demolished ones.
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