The Cleveland Guardians took a half-game lead in the American League Central over the Chicago White Sox after a 6-3 win on Wednesday. Cleveland won the series with victories in the final two games. The White Sox now hold the third wild card by 1.5 games over the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays.

The White Sox host a four-game series against the Detroit Tigers beginning on Thursday. Detroit lost 5-1 at Toronto on Wednesday. After the loss at Cleveland on Wednesday, the White Sox have five wins and 10 losses in September. The White Sox also lost their final two games in August, extending their streak to 12 losses in their last 17 games.

Detroit has been one of the best teams in September, with nine wins and six losses. The loss at Toronto ended a six-game Detroit winning streak. Detroit trails the White Sox by five games for the last AL wild-card spot. Toronto, Texas and the Baltimore Orioles are between Detroit and the White Sox in the AL Wild Card standings.

Detroit can get back into the AL wild-card race by winning the series against the White Sox. The White Sox can eliminate Detroit from the playoffs by winning three games against the Tigers. Detroit's postseason elimination number is six. Any combination of White Sox wins and Tigers losses totaling six would eliminate Detroit from the postseason.

Guardians' and White Sox's remaining schedules

Cleveland is off tomorrow before hosting a three-game series against the A's this weekend. The White Sox can move back into a tie for the division lead on Thursday against Detroit. The White Sox finished the regular season with seven wins and six losses against Cleveland, earning the tiebreaker for the AL Central.

Cleveland finishes the final week of the regular season with three games at the Boston Red Sox and three at the Kansas City Royals. After hosting Detroit, the White Sox play three at Kansas City and host the Colorado Rockies in the final three games of the 2026 regular season. KC is the third-worst AL team, and Colorado has the worst record in MLB in 2026.