White Sox Magic Number Watch: Firmly in Mid-Teens After Shutting Down Twins

The Chicago White Sox are inching closer and closer to their playoff dreams after a dominant win over the Wins.

Sep 6, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago White Sox center fielder Tristan Peters (29) scores during the sixth inning against the Minnesota Twins at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Imagesm | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The White Sox earned a crucial series win over the Minnesota Twins with a 10-1 victory in front of a national TV audience. This weekend probably killed any remaining chance the Twins might have had of getting back in the AL Central race, not that they ever seemed like much of a legitimate threat to begin with.

After the Cleveland Guardians – whom the Sox lead by 2.5 games in the division – briefly fell out of the final wild-card spot Saturday, they regained it after their third walk-off win in four games, along with a Toronto Blue Jays loss. That means the Sox once again have two magic numbers to keep track of.

The Sox and Guardians more or less matched each other in wins and losses every day during the weekend. The only difference was that the Guardians swept a doubleheader and thus gained half a game in the divisional race. Nevertheless, the Sox's magic number to clinch the division is 17.

As for the magic number to clinch a spot in the playoffs, the Jays' loss ended up helping two AL Central teams. Not only are the Guardians back in playoff positioning, but the Sox have that magic number at 16. It's a small difference but an important one that people need to take into account.

Although the Houston Astros don't currently matter for the Sox in this magic number discussion, they do matter as far as seeding since they lead the AL West. By losing to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Sox are back to a 2.5-game lead for the second seed on the AL side of the playoff bracket. Fans have taken to watching that, too, especially after the Sox lost three of four to them earlier in the week.

The Sox will have a day off to digest this series win before beginning the back half of their homestand against the Pittsburgh Pirates. This definitely will be a day for everyone to reset, especially the pitching staff after another bullpen game, a frequent occurrence that many fans are starting to get tired of. Perhaps most pitchers will also get Tuesday off since Sean Burke is pitching.

The Pirates have a slightly better record than the Twins, so the Sox can't afford to take them for granted. Still, they're far enough back in the NL wild-card race that the Sox can give their playoff hopes a final blow. Oh, and improve their own, of course!