Fastball

Detroit Tigers on Verge of Historic Comeback as Playoff Berth Looms

The Detroit Tigers are on the verge of clinching a playoff berth here in 2024, and if they do, they'll join an extremely rare group in baseball history.

Brady Farkas

Detroit Tigers Colt Keith stretches out for a line drive, during the Major League Baseball game between the Detroit Tigers and the Tampa Bay Rays at Comerica Park in Detroit on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024.
Detroit Tigers Colt Keith stretches out for a line drive, during the Major League Baseball game between the Detroit Tigers and the Tampa Bay Rays at Comerica Park in Detroit on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. / Kimberly P. Mitchell / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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The Detroit Tigers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-1 on Wednesday night at Comerica Park. With the win, the Tigers are now 84-74. They remain tied with the Kansas City Royals for the second/third wild card spot in the American League playoff picture and can clinch a playoff berth this weekend. It would be their first playoff berth since the 2014 season.

If and when Detroit punches their ticket to the postseason, they'll join an extremely rare list in baseball history.

Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com on social media:

the Tigers were 8 games under .500 thru 118 games

just 1 team has made the postseason after being 8+ games under .500 after 115+ games played:

the 1973 Mets, who were 8 games under through their 138th game

h/t @EliasSports

It's been an incredible turnaround for Detroit, who even sold off key pieces like Jack Flaherty and Mark Canha at the deadline. Furthermore, they lost shortstop Javier Baez for the rest of the season to injury.

But they've gotten key contributions from up and down the lineup, with Parker Meadows getting hot and Kerry Carpenter and Riley Greene returning from injury. Furthermore, former No. 1 overall pick Spencer Torkelson has come back from Triple-A. He went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI on Wednesday.

The Tigers will be back in action against the Rays on Thursday afternoon with first pitch coming at 1:10 p.m. ET. Left-hander Tyler Alexander will pitch for the Rays while right-hander Reese Olson gets the ball for Detroit.

He's 4-8 with a 3.49 ERA.

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Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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