The American League standings still have a number of races to be decided, including the American League Central division. The Cleveland Guardians did not play their best game of the season on Friday, but the Kansas City Royals happened to be even worse. While the Guards committed two defensive errors and the bullpen struggled, the Royals endured a number of baserunning mistakes, made a defensive error and issued six 9th inning walks which led to a five-run inning for the Guards. Cleveland won the game 12-9 after the Chicago White Sox earned a 6-1 win over the Colorado Rockies earlier in the day.

The Guardians continue to hold a one-game lead over the White Sox in the AL Central standings. Both teams already clinched postseason spots, but it remains to be seen which ball club will be the division winner. Cleveland's most challenging matchup of the three-game series against Kansas City will likely be on Saturday, as Michael Wacha (9-9, 3.33 ERA) is set to pitch for the Royals. Meanwhile, Tanner Bibee (6-15, 4.35 ERA) will get the ball for the Guards.

Chicago has a favorable matchup as Davis Martin (9-7, 3.84 ERA) will face Rockies starter Jose Quintana (2-3, 5.40 ERA). However, Quintana is an established veteran and he is capable of turning in a good start.

The Guardians have potential, but they need to perform better than the way they played on Friday. Cleveland can clinch the AL Central on Saturday with a victory and a White Sox loss.

Elsewhere around the American League

Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (27) and left fielder Yordan Alvarez (44) stand on the field after a play during the sixth inning against the New York Yankees at Daikin Park.
Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers or Houston Astros are going to make MLB history for the wrong seasons. On Friday, the Rangers were defeated 10-2 by the Minnesota Twins and the Houston Astros lost 6-5 to the Athletics. The previous lowest win total for a playoff team in MLB was 82, but the Rangers and Astros are both currently 79-81 with two games remaining this season. Whichever ball club wins the American League West will have the worst record ever for a postseason team in a full 162-game season.

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Both teams have favorable matchups against the lackluster Twins and Athletics, but that clearly did not matter on Friday. Houston holds the tiebreaker so the Astros can clinch the AL West with a victory and a Rangers loss on Saturday.

The AL East is already decided as the Tampa Bay Rays clinched the division. The AL Wild Card is almost completely decided, as the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox hold the top two spots and will play in the AL Wild Card round of the postseason. At the moment, Chicago holds the No. 3 position. Either Chicago or Cleveland will end up as the No. 3 Wild Card team depending on what happens at the top of the AL Central division.

Games to watch on Saturday that will impact AL standings

Cleveland Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee (28) pitches against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at Truist Park.
Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

There are multiple games worth closely watching on Saturday. Here are the contests in the American League that fans will not want to miss.

  • TEX at MIN (4:10 PM ET first pitch)
  • COL at CHW (7:10 PM ET first pitch)
  • CLE at KC (7:10 PM ET first pitch)
  • HOU at ATH (9:40 PM ET first pitch)