MLB Friday recap: Tigers and Royals secure playoff spot, Ohtani chases Triple Crown

CNN
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As the MLB season nears its end, the playoff picture becomes clearer with each game.

The Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals secured their spots in the playoffs on Friday, ending two of the longest losing streaks in the MLB.

In a game in which the Chicago White Sox made unwanted history and set the MLB record for most losses in a single season in baseball's modern era, the Tigers celebrated their first playoff appearance since 2014.

After the Tigers' 4-1 win over Chicago, the Los Angeles Angels are now sole owners of the league's longest active playoff drought.

“I love it. I love the game, I love these guys, I love this team. “The guys we have here are incredible and our staff is great, the support staff is great,” Detroit star pitcher Tarik Skubal told Bally Sports Detroit after a lively postgame locker room.

Skubal has been a key reason for the Tigers' success this season and the starting pitcher is widely considered a leading candidate for the American League Cy Young Award – an award given to the best pitcher in each league.

“Special teams do special things and we have the opportunity to do something special. … When I asked you in the middle of the season what kind of team you wanted to be, I think I wanted to be a playoff team,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch said to his players in the locker room before popping the celebratory bottles of champagne and the party can begin.

There were similar scenes in the Kansas City locker room.

The Royals haven't been to the playoffs since 2015 and lost 106 games last season. But that didn't stop the team from bouncing back in style this season.

Despite a 3-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Friday, the Royals secured a playoff spot thanks to the Baltimore Orioles' win over the Minnesota Twins.

“This is the moment to take it in,” a soaked Vinnie Pasquantino said after the game, according to MLB.com. “We were really bad last year. This year we are really good. And you get emotional when you think about it. I’m really excited to be in this locker room right now. We are happy to be here. And we are not satisfied.”

Royals GM JJ Picollo expressed similar sentiments about the incredible improvement Kansas City has shown this season.

“Getting to where we are involves so many people,” Picollo said. “So many people contributed to this. Watching it all happen is kind of surreal. We had a feeling it was going to happen. But until it happened, you just didn’t know.”

As the teams secured playoff spots, Shohei Ohtani continued his incredible season.

The LA Dodgers and Ohtani defeated the Colorado Rockies 11-4 on Friday and the Japanese star had another brilliant performance – as has become the norm for the founding member of the 50/50 club.

Ohtani hit another home run, stole another base and kept his chances of winning the Triple Crown alive.

Ohtani leads the National League charts in home runs with 54 and has 130 RBIs. The Japanese superstar must now surpass the batting average of Luis Arraez of the San Diego Padres to secure his first Triple Crown since 2012.

“He had a great season,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, according to MLB.com. “When you hit the one-yard barrier on certain stats, whether it's a potential Triple Crown, a 60-60, whatever it may be, stealing 60 bases, you want to try to get there as best you can .”