Detroit Tigers Improve Playoff Chances in Series vs. Boston Red Sox
The Detroit Tigers were able to win a very important series in the American League Wild Card race, as they won two out of three games against the Boston Red Sox.
Coming into the weekend series against the Red Sox, the Tigers knew that this was going to be an important three games. After winning six out of seven games against the Chicago White Sox and the Los Angeles Angels, the Tigers found themselves gaining ground in the Wild Card race.
The series against Boston started off in tough fashion for Detroit, as despite trailing 4-0 in the eighth inning, the Tigers were able to rally back to tie the game. However, three runs in the top of the 10th inning ended up being too much for Detroit to overcome in the bottom half of the inning, as they lost by a score of 7-5.
In Game 2, the Tigers gave the ball to their ace Tarik Skubal, and he delivered a great performance in a massive game for Detroit. In the win, Skubal pitched eight innings and only allowed one run on four hits, while striking out eight batters.
On Sunday, in the rubber game of the series, pitching once again led the Tigers, as they were able to beat the Red Sox by a score of 4-1. Brant Hurter logged most of the innings for the Tigers after they used Beau Brieske as the opener. Hurter pitched five innings and only allowed one run in a great outing.
After winning the series against the Red Sox, the Tigers now find themselves just five games back in the AL Wild Card picture, and are just .5 games behind Boston. This was a huge series for the Tigers against a team in front of them in the standings, and they got the job done.
Unfortunately, the Tigers will now have a bit of a tough schedule spot, as they are traveling to the West Coast to face the San Diego Padres without getting a day off for travel. The Padres are playing some good baseball, and Tuesday will be a challenging game based on travel alone.
While the series against San Diego will be a tough one, the Tigers do get to face the Oakland Athletics after that for three games. If the Tigers can come back from the West Coast with three wins, they should still be in a good position and be pleased with their standing.
