White Sox' job is far from finished despite clinching first playoff berth since 2021

It’s official: for the first time since the 2021 season, the Chicago White Sox are headed to the Postseason. With Thursday afternoon’s win over the Royals, the White Sox have punched their ticket to October, becoming the first team in MLB history to do so following three-straight 100-loss seasons. The White Sox will certainly be celebrating this accomplishment on their flight back to Chicago this evening, but three more regular season games remain, and they’re games that do mean something for the south-siders. 

With Thursday’s win, the White Sox moved within a half game of the Guardians for first place in the AL Central. Cleveland will play later Thursday evening in their series finale against the Red Sox, and a loss would put the White Sox back on top of the division. Having won the season series 7-6 against Cleveland, a tie between the two teams after Sunday would result in the White Sox becoming the AL Central champions and likely receiving a bye to the ALDS with the AL’s number two seed. If the Guardians win Thursday, the division will come down to the weekend. 

The Guardians will head to Kansas City for their final series of the year beginning Friday and the White Sox will head home to take on the Colorado Rockies. Both opponents have been long eliminated from the Postseason so are simply trying to play spoiler at this point in the year. Still, the White Sox won’t be able to coast for their final three games after clinching, because there’s still work to do. Winning the division would not only give the White Sox a pass to the ALDS, but would allow them to rest their tired pitching staff for over a week and guarantee that the first two games of the ALDS would be played at home. They’d be able to watch Cleveland play either Texas or Houston and await the winner. 

White Sox need help from the Red Sox and Royals to win AL Central title

Even if the White Sox sweep the Rockies, there’s no guarantees they’ll win the division. If the Guardians win Thursday and sweep the Royals, there’s nothing the White Sox can do to pass them. It’s imperative, however, to keep the pressure on Cleveland. The Guardians lost 1-0 to the Red Sox on Wednesday night and the White Sox had a chance to take advantage of the opportunity but failed to do so. Now, they’ll need to hope they’re given another opportunity. 

While White Sox fans and players alike can celebrate the long, tedious baseball season ending in a playoff berth, there’s still work to be done. Whether the White Sox make the playoffs as a Wild Card or a division champion will be decided in the next four days, and the team needs to keep their foot on the gas. Regardless of which round they’ll play in and who their opponent will be, the White Sox have proven all year that you can never count them out. All it takes is getting hot at the right time and the White Sox can make some serious noise in the Postseason.

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