The Detroit Tigers, the hottest team in baseball over the past few weeks, secured an American League wild card spot on Friday night, ending a ten-year wait for the postseason.
“This team is pretty dangerous,” said Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris. “We got a chance to make some noise in October, and we’re going to keep fighting for the opportunity.”
Detroit clinched their playoff position with a 4-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox, who set a modern major league record with their 121st loss.
The Tigers will face either the top AL wild card team, Baltimore, or AL West champion Houston in a best-of-three series starting Tuesday. They have been on a winning streak, taking six straight games and winning 10 out of 11, making it to the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
On August 10, Detroit had a record of 55-63 and was ten games behind for the last wild card spot, but then they went 31-11. During this time, the Tigers had the lowest ERA in baseball and the best run differential.
“It’s been a dream come true,” said first baseman Spencer Torkelson.
With two games remaining, the Tigers were positioned for the second AL wild card, one game ahead of their AL Central rival, Kansas City, which also secured a playoff spot on Friday, while Minnesota was eliminated.
AL Cy Young Award favorite Tarik Skubal leads Detroit’s pitching staff, and Jason Foley has become a dependable closer, earning his 28th save in the series opener against Chicago.
Riley Greene, an All-Star outfielder, is a key player in a lineup that gets timely hitting from everyone.
Torkelson, the No. 1 overall pick in 2020, was sent down to the minors during the season but came back strong to help the team’s late-season push.
“That’s what makes it so special when you do win,” Torkelson said. “It’s not always going to be perfect. You’re not always going to get a hit. You’re not always going to strike the guy out. But just grinding through it and persevering, that’s what makes it so, so special.”
Taking advantage of facing a historically bad team, Detroit broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning of their playoff-clinching victory.
Jake Rogers scored when Jared Shuster was called for a wild pitch, even though the ball didn’t hit the ground just below catcher Korey Lee’s glove.
Riley Greene put Detroit ahead 3-1 with a double in the seventh, and Chicago helped the Tigers again later in that inning when Fraser Ellard threw the team’s third wild pitch of the night.
Detroit entered the season hoping to compete for a playoff spot in their second full season under Scott Harris and A.J. Hinch’s fourth year as manager.
“With every player I hugged, I had a flashback to some moment of adversity they faced, or some moment where we challenged them to do something differently and all of these guys did,” Harris said on the field after the game. “They rose to the occasion and they deserve it. I’m really, really proud of them.”
The Tigers started off well, winning six of their first seven games. They had a winning record until mid-May, when they began to fall in the standings.
By the end of July, they seemed to be out of pitching when Kenta Maeda was moved to the bullpen, Casey Mize and Reese Olson got injured, and Jack Flaherty was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Whenever it looked like the Tigers might turn things around, they couldn’t keep up the momentum, and many fans in the state started focusing on football.
Hinch got creative by using a rotation of Tarik Skubal and rookie Keider Montero while relying on the bullpen to pitch entire games, like in the series opener against the White Sox in front of 44,435 fans at Comerica Park.
Skubal and Montero have combined for an 11-3 record since August 1, but only one other starting pitcher, Brant Hurter, has won a game, which was against the Los Angeles Angels a month ago.
The Motor City’s baseball team saved their season and rekindled interest, attracting big crowds after recent seasons that had seen mostly empty stands.
“It’s been a long time since this organization was in the playoffs and these fans deserve it,” Harris said.
