Clinching a playoff spot Thursday in Kansas City was a a moment of tremendous catharsis for a White Sox team that had worked to defy expectations all season — and especially for those who had labored to pull the franchise out of the morass that was the 121-loss season in 2024.
‘‘Me, [Miguel] Vargas, [Andrew Benintendi], Davis [Martin] have been here since ‘24,’’ right-hander Sean Burke said in a beer- and champagne-soaked visitors’ clubhouse in Kauffman Stadium. ‘‘To see the journey it took to get back to this spot is super-rewarding.’’
But the celebration couldn’t go on forever. Burke was the scheduled starter Friday against the Rockies in what possibly was his most important outing to date.
The Sox entered their final series of the regular season one game behind the Guardians in the American League Central with three games to play. But they own the season-series tiebreaker, which means finishing in a tie with the Guardians would give them the division.
‘‘The work is not done,’’ general manager Chris Getz said. ‘‘We’re certainly going to do everything in our power to win this division. We know the significance of that.’’
The significance of a division title is easy enough to measure through Burke, the Sox’ most reliable starter (3.40 ERA in 167 innings pitched entering Friday). If the Sox catch the Guardians, they likely will secure a bye through the wild-card round and not play until next Saturday. That could set up Burke as their Game 1 starter.
If not, the Sox must begin a wild-card series Tuesday after deploying Burke, Martin and Anthony Kay — their three leaders in innings pitched this season — this weekend.
A lot might be asked of Kay, in particular. With left-handed relievers Hagen Smith and Sean Newcomb each working two innings Wednesday, Kay was available out of the bullpen Friday for roughly 20 pitches, even though he remains the scheduled starter Sunday.
It’s a cost that’s easier to pay if it provides the benefit of six days off — and one that might prove prohibitive if it affects the results of a best-of-three series next week instead.
‘‘That’s what ‘all hands on deck’ mentality is all about,’’ manager Will Venable said. ‘‘We want to win the division. To do that, we need to put together three really good games, so we don’t feel we are in a [bad] spot to set things up for down the road.’’
For as much as the Sox celebrated clinching a playoff berth as the historic moment in MLB history it was, there is a decided ‘‘division or bust’’ nature to their strategy for the final weekend.
‘‘It’s pretty straightforward,’’ Venable said. ‘‘You’ve gotta push. I don’t think there’s any other choice. I don’t know why you wouldn’t.’’
At the same time, Getz agreed with a reporter’s premise that the Sox’ front office had enjoyed a sort of win-win with their trade-deadline approach. Getz declined to deal any of the Sox’ best prospects, and the team still made the playoffs.
‘‘We feel like we’re still just getting started,’’ Getz said, pointing to a stable of players with years of team control left. ‘‘We certainly didn’t want to mortgage the future.’’
But that’s a big-picture, long-term view that begins and ends with the front office. For the Sox’ clubhouse, every day from here on out will be spent living in the moment. That means showering each other in beer on Thursday in Kansas City and fighting for an AL Central title for the rest of the weekend.
‘‘You clinch a playoff spot [Thursday] but have so much on the line here this weekend,’’ Venable said. ‘‘Ultimately, these guys understand where we are at, how important these games are and what it means to go out there and continue to be locked in and play the kind of baseball we’ve been playing.’’