The Guardians beat the White Sox 8-2 on August 7, giving Cleveland a direct win against a team still holding cushion on the BaseChaser board.
Angel Martínez started the damage in the first inning with a two-run single. He broke the game open in the fifth with a grand slam, finishing with 6 RBI as Cleveland pulled away.
Steven Kwan added a solo homer in the sixth, and Parker Messick gave the Guardians 7 innings, allowing 2 earned runs with 8 strikeouts.
What It Means
The Guardians improve to 58-59. The White Sox fall to 59-56.
BaseChaser lists Cleveland at 38.3% to make the playoffs. Chicago remains ahead at 60.4%.
That gap is still real, but Cleveland made it smaller. The Guardians gained ground while Chicago's cushion got thinner near the top of the chase pack.
Track every team's playoff race with 100,000 simulations updated daily at BaseChaser.
100,000 simulations updated daily, see every team's playoff path
View MLB Playoff Odds →