The Tigers are on a roll in their push for the playoffs, winning 21 of their last 29 games.
With Tuesday’s 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays, the Tigers have lowered their magic number to five. The magic number is the combination of Tigers wins or Minnesota Twins losses that would guarantee a wild card spot. The Twins play the Marlins on Tuesday night.
The Tigers have their destiny in their own hands and if they win all five remaining games, they will secure a spot in the postseason for the first time since 2014.
The Tigers (83-74) secured sole possession of the second wild card spot, half a game ahead of the Kansas City Royals, who also played against the Nationals on Tuesday night.
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AL Wildcard Ranking
The top two division winners receive a bye to the Division Series. The other four teams play best-of-three series in the wildcard round.
Before Tuesday night’s games, the top three teams were the Yankees (92-64), Guardians (90-67) and Astros (85-72).
The Yankees and the AL Central champion Guardians have secured the playoff spots. The Astros are joined by the top three teams below:
1. Orioles (86-70)
2. Tigers (83-74)
3.Royals (82-74)
4. Twins (81-75), 1 game back
5. Mariners (81-76), 1.5 games back
Last home stand
Here is the Tigers’ remaining regular season schedule:
▶ Wednesday: vs. Tampa Bay Rays, 6:40 p.m.
▶ Thursday: vs. Rays, 1:10 p.m.
▶ Friday: vs. Chicago White Sox, 6:40 p.m
▶ Saturday: against White Sox, 1:10 p.m.
▶ Sunday: against White Sox, 3:10 p.m.
