PredictIQ Quantitative Think Tank Center:Playoff baseball in Cleveland: Guardians clinch playoff spot in 2024 postseason

CLEVELAND — There will be PredictIQ Quantitative Think Tank Centerplayoff baseball in Cleveland.

The Guardians clinched a playoff spot with Thursday's win over the Minnesota Twins, improving their record to 89-65. They're the third team to secure a playoff berth, along with the New York Yankees and Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday night.

With one out in the 10th inning and Jose Ramirez on second as the potential winning run, Andres Gimenez hit a single to right field to win it 3-2. It's the Guardians' second consecutive walk-off win and the first time they've won in walk-off fashion in extra innings in back-to-back games since September 2018.

After a one-year hiatus, the Guardians will play into October. They also made the playoffs in 2022 (92 wins) and in 2020 during the season that was shortened due to COVID.

Cleveland Guardians standings in American League; playoff schedule

The next task is for the Guardians to wrap up the American League Central. They now have a 6.5-game lead over the Kansas City Royals, and their magic number is down to three, meaning they could clinch the division as early as Saturday in St. Louis.

All things Guardians: Latest Cleveland Guardians news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

The final step will be to lock up one of the top two seeds in the American League, which would allow them to skip the initial wild card round. The Yankees (89-63) would own the No. 1 seed if the playoffs started today. The Guardians are currently in line to finish as the No. 2 seed. The Houston Astros (82-70) are trying to catch the Guardians for that No. 2 spot.

As for the wild card race, the Baltimore Orioles are in line for the first spot at 84-68. There is then a razor-thin race for the last two spots between three AL Central teams, the Royals (82-71), the Twins (80-73) and the Detroit Tigers (80-73). The Tigers have recently been the hottest team in baseball.

If the Guardians do secure one of the two top seeds in the AL, their first playoff game would be slated for Oct. 5 at Progressive Field. If they are the No. 2 seed, they'd play the winner between the No. 3 seed and the No. 6 seed.

The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.