Surreal? With 9 Games Left, Detroit Tigers are 1/2 Game Behind Twins in Wildcard Race

Riley Greene hits a homer

Normally this time of the year, most Detroit baseball fans are thinking about next season or have moved on to football and the Lions.   

But this year...it's almost surreal. 

With 9 games left, the Detroit Tigers are in the hunt for a wildcard spot.

Wednesday night, the red-hot Tigers beat the Kansas City Royals 4-2 and the Minnesota Twins lost 5-4 to the Cleveland Guardians in 10 innings. The Tigers are now a 1/2 game behind the Twins, who hold the last wildcard spot in the American League, and 2 games behind K.C.

Chris McCosky of the Detroit News writes:

How unreal is this? The Tigers were nine games under .500 on July 4. They traded away four veteran players at the deadline. They designated another for assignment. Their starting shortstop endured a season-ending hip injury. And yet, they have the best record in the American League (33-23) since the All-Star break and the best record in baseball (25-10) since Aug. 11.

The Tigers now go on to play Baltimore in an away game Friday night. 

The Tigers last had a winning season in 2016 when they went 86-75. They are currently 80-73.

TURN US UP JACE pic.twitter.com/Vbrn0CalCQ

— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) September 19, 2024