The Detroit Tigers are now in the playoff picture with just one week left in the MLB season.
On Sunday, they tied for the American League’s second wild-card spot by beating the Baltimore Orioles. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Twins lost to the Boston Red Sox in their first game of a doubleheader, and the Kansas City Royals were defeated by the San Francisco Giants. At the start of Sunday, Detroit was half a game behind Minnesota and one game behind Kansas City for those two spots. The Twins still had another game to play that evening, so more changes could happen.
Detroit made big trades at the deadline, letting go of Jack Flaherty, Mark Canha, Carson Kelly, and Andrew Chafin. They were 8.5 games behind Minnesota at the beginning of August but have since surged up with a 30-17 record from August onward—a winning percentage of 63.8%, which would be like winning 103 games over an entire season! Their recent success is even more impressive given their mix-and-match rotation and young lineup; only three players on Sunday were older than 26.
Remaining Games:
The Twins will face off against both Miami Marlins and Baltimore Orioles in their final series. The Tigers still have to play against Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago White Sox before wrapping up their season. As for Kansas City Royals, they’ll end with games against Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves.
Fans might think this unexpected rise is really exciting!
Will Detroit keep this momentum going? What do you think?
