The Detroit Tigers Are Trying To Make A Run To The Playoffs
It's rare in baseball for a team to come seemingly out of nowhere to make a late-season run to the playoffs. Sure, every decade or so, a team gets incredibly hot and makes things interesting. But, more often than not, teams falter in the last furlong, snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. There are definitely more 1964 Phillies and 1978 Red Sox and 2011 Red Sox than there are 1914 Braves or 2011 Cardinals.
But, the 2024 Detroit Tigers are trying to find their way into the record books and into the hearts of baseball fans outside the Motor City. On August 10th, the Tigers were 55-63, eight games under .500, and looking forward to 2025 with their young core of players. Sure, they remain saddled with Javy Báez's horrible contract; and sure, they are still trying to figure out what to do with former number one draft pick Spencer Torkelson, who has spent some time down in Triple-A Toledo this summer. But, they have this season's eventual American League Cy Young winner in Tarik Skubal, budding stars Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter roaming the outfield, and rookie infielder Colt Keith starting to round into form.
Since that day in August, Detroit has gone 25-11, playing at a .694 clip, which is nearly a 112-win pace. The Tigers still need things to go their way to slip into the final wild card spot, and the Minnesota Twins hold the tie-breaker as between the two teams, so the hill is that much steeper. But consider that on August 20th, even after they started their hot streak, they were nine games back. One month later, on September 20th, they were tied for that last spot. Sure, it took some mediocre play by the Royals and the Twins, and for the Red Sox to lose twice as many games as they have won during the same period. However, it also required the Tigers to play like a playoff contender, and that is exactly what they have done.
As Jeff Passan has reported at ESPN , during this stretch, the Tigers have a +62 run differential, and are 10-2 in one-run games. And home cooking hasn't been that important, as the young club is 12-5 on the road.
Detroit has done all of this after a massive sell-off at the trade deadline. No longer suiting up for the Tigers are pitcher Jack Flaherty, who stands to be one of the Dodgers most important pitchers in the playoffs; outfielder Mark Canha, who has found a home in San Francisco; Andrew Chafin, a right-handed reliever who is helping the Rangers finish off their season; and Carson Kelly, who now catches Chafin's pitches in Texas. It doesn't make sense that a team that seemingly waived the white flag in August is making a run for October, but this team is so young and so inexperienced, that just don't know any better.
The Tigers lost to the Orioles last night, and have two more against the team currently holding the first wild card spot in the American League. Then they come home for three games against the always frisky Tampa Bay Rays. But, the silver lining is that Detroit finishes the season with three games at Comerica Park against the hapless Chicago White Sox. Can they do enough over the next five games to make it so that they just need to beat the White Sox to push themselves into the playoffs? Only time will tell.
If past is prologue, if winning nearly 70% of your games over a month of intense competition, if having the best pitcher on the planet in your rotation every fifth day, if having a core of players who don't know that this isn't supposed to happen for another year or two, and/or if having one of the best managers in baseball calling the shots and motivating his team, are any indication, it may be time for Tigers fans to start booking reservations to Houston, where they would play the opening round of the playoffs. A.J. Hinch back in H-Town with a chance for redemption and maybe even a few just desserts? It's nearly too much to hope for.
