Indians vs. White Sox: Previewing the Important Four-Game Series

Sep 11, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Cleveland Indians second baseman Michael Martinez (1) and outfielder Abraham Almonte (35) celebrate after the game against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. The Indians beat the Twins 7-1. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 11, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Cleveland Indians second baseman Michael Martinez (1) and outfielder Abraham Almonte (35) celebrate after the game against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. The Indians beat the Twins 7-1. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 4
Next
Sep 11, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Cleveland Indians second baseman Michael Martinez (1) and outfielder Abraham Almonte (35) celebrate after the game against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. The Indians beat the Twins 7-1. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 11, 2016; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Cleveland Indians second baseman Michael Martinez (1) and outfielder Abraham Almonte (35) celebrate after the game against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. The Indians beat the Twins 7-1. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports /

The Cleveland Indians are off to Chicago in the hopes that they can whittle down their magic number when they take on the White Sox in a four-game series.

Let’s go back to August 28. The Cleveland Indians dropped to 73-56 after a 2-1 loss to the Texas Rangers, finishing off a 2-5 road trip, which caused the Tribe’s division lead over the Detroit Tigers to drop to 4.5 games. Fast forward two weeks and all that seems like a distant memory.

The Indians have gone 9-3 since that road trip, which has helped push their record to 83-59 and their division lead over the Tigers to seven games.

The Indians’ magic number now stands at 14 games with 20 games left, meaning that it will be a fight between the Indians, the Tigers and the Royals (who are third in the division, nine games back).

The Indians will look to whittle away at that magic number when they head to Chicago to take on the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox have had a disappointing season, as they currently stand at 68-74, which is good for fourth in the AL Central. Despite their struggles, the Sox are still a dangerous team, so look for them to make it a highly competitive series.

Next: Numbers to Know