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    • Detroit Tigers 1 win away from first MLB playoff berth since 2014
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    Detroit Tigers 1 win away from first MLB playoff berth since 2014

    Vaseline Posted on

    Reports from the Free Press
    | Detroit Free Press

    And then, finally, after thirteen innings in Minneapolis, the Detroit Tigers’ magic number was… one.

    The Minnesota Twins lost 8-6 to the Miami Marlins in extras on Thursday night, falling three full games behind the Tigers and Kansas City Royals in the American League wild-card playoff chase. (The Tigers and Royals, who both won Thursday, are tied for the second and third wild-card spots, with the Royals owning the head-to-head tiebreaker.)

    Thursday’s loss to Minnesota means the Tigers can clinch their first postseason berth since the 2014 season — and end the longest active playoff drought in MLB as early as Friday night — with a win against the Chicago White Sox in Detroit. The game at Comerica Park starts at 6:40 PM (Bally Sports Detroit). The Tigers have a total of three games against the White Sox, with matinees on Saturday (1:10 p.m.) and Sunday (3:10 p.m.) to conclude the regular season at home. The Tigers are 9-1 against the White Sox this season, with series sweeps in March (three games) and August (four games).

    Even with a loss, the Tigers could clinch a playoff berth with another loss to the Twins, who open a three-game series against the AL wild-card leaders, the Baltimore Orioles, in Minneapolis at 7:40 p.m. The O’s lead the Tigers and Royals by three games. Among them, the Twins have the tiebreaker against both the Tigers and Royals, meaning they are in if they win all three games this weekend and the Royals or Tigers lose all three. A three-way tie for the final two wild-card berths would send the Twins and Royals to the postseason and the Tigers home for the fall.

    SHAWN WINDSOR: Tigers are about to do something no Detroit sports team has done in a generation

    The White Sox are trying to avoid the worst record in MLB history. Since passing the 2003 Tigers for most losses in AL history (119) and tying the 1962 New York Mets for most losses in modern baseball history (120) on Sunday, the White Sox are three games in row won.

    The top wild-card team will host the No. 2 wild-card team in a best-of-three series on Tuesday, while the No. 3 wild-card team will travel to take on the AL West champions, the Houston Astros , in the other best-of-three series, which also starts on Tuesday. The Orioles have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Royals, but the Tigers have the tiebreaker over the O’s. In the event of a three-way tie for the top wildcard spot, the Tigers would prevail, with the best record against the other two teams combined.

    The winners of each series will advance to face AL East champion New York Yankees (currently the league’s top seed) and AL Central champion Cleveland Guardians (one game behind the Yanks) in the best-of-five AL Division Series starting on October 5 starts. .

    PLAYOFF PLANNING: When will Tarik Skubal pitch next? Detroit Tigers have two dates, but Skubal is hoping for one

    The playoff berth, regardless of seeding, would mark a stunning turnaround, with the Tigers falling out of the playoff spot midway through the 10-game season and rebounding from eight games under .500 (55-63) on August 11. in the 46 days since then, the Tigers have gone 30-11 – the best record in baseball in that span – to overtake the Twins.

    Minnesota fell behind Miami, the National League’s worst team, early Thursday night, surrendering a one-out double to Jake Burger to score Xavier Edwards in the top of the first inning. The Marlins added three more runs in the fifth inning, with Burger picking up another RBI but giving up a two-run lead in the bottom of the eighth after a one-out foul ball revived the Twins. The batter, Royce Lewis, walked, advanced to third base on a single by Carlos Santana and scored with Santana on a double by rookie Brooks Lee off the right field wall at Target Field.

    The Marlins created a lead in the top 10e inning, with Jesús Sánchez singled to advance free runner Griffin Conine (who came on as pinch-runner) to third base, followed by Conine scoring on a sacrifice fly by Jonah Bride. In the bottom of the inning, the Twins scored Lewis, who opened the frame as a free runner at second, on a sacrifice fly – caught by former Tiger Derek Hill with an acrobatic move – after Miami reliever Michael Peterson led off the inning with back- to-back walks to load the bases.

    Neither team was able to score in the 11th or 12th innings, despite a bases-loaded, one-out situation for the Twins in the bottom of the 11th and two on with no outs to open the bottom of the 12th.

    In the 13th, Otto Lopez launched a hanging breaking ball from Scott Blewett to left for a one-out double and the go-ahead run. After a pair of walks, Conine singled just above second base to give the Marlins some breathing room. Miami ultimately held on to win.

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