For the first time since 1985, the Royals have clinched a Division title. The Royals are the Central Division champs, but now the focus shifts to home field advantage throughout the playoffs. To do so, the Royals must hold off the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Royals lost 1-0 to the Cubs in 11 innings and Toronto beat Baltimore to overtake the Royals for the top spot in the American League with six games to play.
Now the Royals still need any combination of eight Toronto losses and
Toronto’s magic number to clinch home field advantage — 6
Toronto 91-65
Royals 90-66
The Cardinals are just one win away against Pittsburgh from clinching their third straight NL Central title
Cardinals magic number to clinch the Central Division — 2
Cardinals 99-58
Pittsburgh 95-62
The magic number is determined by taking 163 and subtracting the number of wins for the Cardinals (or Toronto) and subtracting the number of losses for the Pirates (and Royals) respectively.