Guardians Clinch AL Central, Earn No. 2 Seed and ALDS Bye
The short version
- Cleveland clinched the AL Central with a Saturday win combined with a Chicago loss to Colorado.
- The Guardians hold the AL's No. 2 seed and a wild card round bye into the ALDS.
- Cleveland hosts ALDS Game 1 on Oct. 3, Game 2 on Oct. 5 and a potential Game 5 on Oct. 10 against the No. 3 vs. No. 6 wild card winner.
- The Chicago White Sox are the No. 6 seed; the No. 3 seed and AL West winner were undecided entering the final day.
- Cleveland has not won the World Series since 1948 and would lack homefield advantage in a World Series this year.
Cleveland locked up the American League Central on Saturday and will skip the wild card round, opening the ALDS at home on October 3.
The Cleveland Guardians are champions of the American League Central. The division title was decided in the second-to-last game of the regular season, with Cleveland clinching after a win on Saturday night paired with a loss by Chicago against Colorado.
The result locked up the No. 2 seed in the American League for Cleveland. That seeding comes with a first-round bye, sending the Guardians straight to the American League Division Series without having to play in the wild card round.
Cleveland will open the ALDS at home, hosting Game 1 on Saturday, October 3, and Game 2 on Monday, October 5. A potential Game 5, if the series goes the distance, would also be played in Cleveland on Saturday, October 10.
The Guardians' opponent is not yet known. They will face the winner of the American League wild card series between the No. 3 and No. 6 seeds. The AL West race had not been settled heading into the final day of the regular season, leaving the No. 3 seed undetermined.
The No. 6 seed is set: the Chicago White Sox. That creates the possibility of an all-AL Central ALDS matchup between Chicago and Cleveland, a meeting of division rivals, though it depends on how the wild card round plays out.
Should Cleveland advance beyond the ALDS, the American League Championship Series is a best-of-seven with a World Series berth on the line. The higher seed hosts Games 1, 2, 6 and 7 when necessary, meaning Cleveland's home games in that round would depend on how its bracket shakes out.
The Guardians are chasing the franchise's first World Series title since 1948, the longest such drought in Major League Baseball. Even if Cleveland reaches the World Series this year, homefield advantage would belong to the National League opponent, because the Guardians will finish the regular season with a worse record than all six NL playoff teams. Cleveland would then host Games 3 and 4 plus a hypothetical Game 5.
According to the source report, tickets are already on sale for each potential Guardians postseason home game, with ALDS games starting at $121 to $130, potential ALCS home games starting at $147 to $164, and potential World Series home games listed from $1,750 to $2,014.
The Guardians close the regular season on Sunday, September 27, visiting the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. First pitch is set for 3:10 PM EDT, with the game available on ESPN Unlmtd, MLB.TV, CLEGuardians.TV and Royals.TV.
