After 162 games, the White Sox and Twins were even. After 163, the White Sox were better by one swing, enough to clinch the final playoff berth in 2008.

A clutch performance from starting pitcher John Danks and Jim Thome's 541st home run gave the White Sox a 1-0 victory against the Twins in the American League Central tiebreaker on Sept. 30.

Every day from now until Spring Training, MLB.com/Live will air a classic game on Baseball's Best. The White Sox win in Game No. 163 can be seen on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT.

On Sept. 29, Chicago defeated Detroit, 8-2, in a makeup game to move into a tie with Minnesota for first place in the division. Only one team could make the playoffs, so the stage was set for a play-in game at U.S. Cellular Field, the site previously determined by a coin toss.

It quickly developed into a duel between two up-and-coming pitchers. Through six innings, Danks and Nick Blackburn had matched zeros. Blackburn finally faltered in the seventh, when Thome launched a 2-2 pitch to deep center.

"I was lucky I got a pitch over the plate, but I knew I hit it pretty good," said Thome, who went to the playoffs for the first time since 2001, when he was with the Indians. "The way Blackburn was pitching, to get an opportunity like that off him was very special."

The Twins got no such opportunities against Danks, who threw eight scoreless innings on three days' rest. He held the Twins to a pair of hits and three walks. Team MVPs Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau went a combined 0-for-6 with three strikeouts, marking the first time all season that neither reached base in a game both started.

Minnesota's best scoring chance was thwarted by Ken Griffey Jr., who nailed Michael Cuddyer on a throw home from center field in the fifth.

With the ultimate victory, the White Sox became the first club to defeat three different opponents in their final three games. The Royals made it all possible by taking two of three from the Twins in Minneapolis during the final weekend of the regular season.

The Sox, who were swept by the Twins at the Metrodome from Sept. 23-25, escaped elimination thrice. On Sept. 28, they beat the Indians to snap a five-game losing streak. On Sept. 29, they topped the Tigers in the makeup game. The next night, the Twins made it three up, three down.

"You never want to put 162 games into one game," Morneau said. "But that's what ended up happening. You don't want to come down to one shot, but that's what [happened]. We're going home, and they're going to the playoffs."