Magic number: 9

The magic number is the total of wins by the Twins or losses by the second-place Guardians that will clinch the American League Central for the Twins.

Games remaining: 16

The Twins (76-70) lost 5-4 on Wednesday to Tampa Bay at Target Field and start a four-game series in Chicago against the White Sox on Thursday. The Guardians (69-78) lost 6-5 in 10 innings at San Francisco and are off Thursday.

Likely playoff opponent: If the season ended today, the No. 3-seeded Twins would play No. 6 Seattle in a wild-card best-of-three series at Target Field.

American League division leaders: Baltimore (East) 91-54; Houston (West) 83-64; Twins (Central) 76-70.

AL wild-card race (three qualify): Tampa Bay 90-57, Texas 81-64, Seattle 81-65, Toronto 80-66.

National League division leaders: Atlanta (East) 96-50; Milwaukee (Central) 81-64; L.A. Dodgers (West) 88-57.

NL wild-card race (three qualify): Philadelphia 79-67, Chicago Cubs 78-69, Cincinnati 76-71, Arizona 76-71.

Playoff format: Teams with the top two records in each league get a first-round bye. The wild-card round is best-of-three, with all three games at the higher seed’s stadium. The second round (Division Series) is best-of-five; the third round (Championship Series) and the World Series are best-of-seven.