The goal: The Twins are trying to clinch an American League playoff berth.
Status: The Twins trail first-place Cleveland by 7½ games in the AL Central, but hold the final AL wild-card spot, leading Detroit by 1½ games and Seattle by 2. They are 2½ games behind Kansas City, which has the second wild-card spot.
Magic number: 11. Any combination of Twins wins, and losses by their next closest pursuer equaling 11 will clinch the playoffs.
Twins remaining schedule: Three at Cleveland (today-Thursday); three at Boston (Friday-Sunday); three vs. Miami (Sept. 24-26); three vs. Baltimore (Sept. 27-29).
Tiebreakers: As of Tuesday, the Twins have tiebreakers over the Royals, Tigers, Astros and Mariners based on head-to-head competition. The tiebreaking format is explained here.
When do the playoffs start? The final day of the regular season is Sunday, Sept. 29; the first playoff games are Tuesday, Oct. 1.
Teams: There are six qualifiers from each league in the playoffs; three division champions and three wild-card teams.