The Cleveland Guardians narrowly escaped with a crucial 7-6 victory against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night. A loss would have placed Cleveland 2.5 games back of first place in the American League Central division. Instead, Brayan Rocchio's fly ball dropped just out of the reach of outfielder Sam Antonacci's glove in the bottom of the 9th and Cleveland earned the win. The Guardians are now just a half-game behind the White Sox in the division.
The American League Central is far from decided. Cleveland is set to host Chicago in the series finale on Wednesday morning. While the game won't decide which team officially wins the division, it will decide which ball club leaves the series as the leader of the AL Central.
In the American League East, the Tampa Bay Rays hold a 3.5 game lead over the New York Yankees for first place in the division. Meanwhile, the American League West is quite competitive with the Houston Astros holding a one-game lead over the Texas Rangers.
All of the division races in the AL are quite competitive at the moment. The AL Wild Card's top two teams are likely going to be the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in that order, but the final spot has multiple teams competing for it.
AL Wild Card race
The Guardians currently hold the final AL Wild Card position. The White Sox will end up with the spot at the end of the day if Cleveland wins Wednesday's game. If not, Cleveland will retain control of the spot even with a defeat, as the Texas Rangers are 1.5 games back in the AL Wild Card. The Toronto Blue Jays (2.0 GB) and Baltimore Orioles (3.0 GB) are among the other teams still in contention for the final AL Wild Card position.
The American League Wild Card has many teams still believing they can contend. It will be one of the most intriguing races to follow down the stretch of the season.