For the first time in almost two months, the Detroit Tigers have finally found themselves alone in first place. It’s a place that almost everyone expected them to be, but the path hasn’t exactly been easy.
Today also marks the final regular season home game for the Tigers. While they have played well at home this year, they certainly have had their fair shares of struggles while playing on the road. In fact, there’s only two teams in the American League that have won less games on the road than the Tigers, and that’s the Cleveland Indians and the Toronto Blue Jays. With their final six games coming on the road, there is some cause for concern.
The good news is that we’re playing the Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals, both who are out of any potential playoff race. Although that should bode well for Detroit, it doesn’t mean that it’s going to be a cake walk of any sort. The Tigers are 8-7 against the Twins, and 8-4 against the Royals. Realistically, they’re going to need to win at least four out of those six games to secure a playoff berth.
Meanwhile, the White Sox have a trickier path (at least on paper), as they have to still host the Tampa Bay Rays for a four-game series, while they are still fighting for a potential Wild Card spot. The White Sox have defeated the Rays in all three of their meetings so far this year, but I wouldn’t be counting Tampa Bay out, at least not quite yet.
With only a one-game lead over the White Sox, the Tigers need to show some heart to go with all of their talent. If they do, there’s no reason why they won’t be able to make another deep run in the playoffs.
