Riley Greene hit an RBI double, and the Detroit Tigers scored two runs on wild pitches in a 4-1 victory against the record-setting Chicago White Sox on Friday night, securing a playoff spot for the first time in ten years.
“Belief is a big thing,” Greene said. “We never stopped believing, and that’s what did it for us.”
Detroit made a strong late-season push to earn an American League wild card, while the White Sox faced a tough season, finishing with 121 losses, which is a modern major league record.
“They were still playing for something,” Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson said.
The Tigers will face either Baltimore or the AL West champion Houston next week in a best-of-three Wild Card Series. They have been on a winning streak, taking six straight and ten out of eleven games as they head into the playoffs.
The White Sox set a record for losses after breaking the previous mark of 120 losses held by the New York Mets from 1962.
The all-time worst record was set in 1899 by the Cleveland Spiders, who went 20-134.
“I think the frustration began long before the number got here,” said Chicago interim manager Grady Sizemore. “This was one of those things: You aren’t happy, but I don’t know if that would feel any different at 115 or 110.”
Taking advantage of playing a struggling team, Detroit broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning when Jake Rogers scored on a wild pitch by Jared Shuster, even though the ball didn’t hit the ground. Matt Vierling then added a sacrifice fly.
White Sox rookie Zach DeLoach hit his first home run in the sixth to bring his team within a run.
Greene extended Detroit’s lead with a double in the seventh, and Chicago’s third wild pitch of the night helped the Tigers again later in the inning.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch used his bullpen for the whole game, a strategy that has worked well for him this late in the season.
