The Tigers end their decade-long postseason wait with a win over the White Sox

DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers, the hottest team in baseball in recent weeks, clinched an AL wild-card berth on Friday night, ending a decade-long postseason drought.

“This team is pretty dangerous,” said Scott Harris, the Tigers’ president of baseball operations. “We had a chance to make a splash in October and we will continue to fight for that chance.”

Detroit clinched a playoff spot with a 4-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox, who set a modern major league record with their 121st loss.

The Tigers were on a roll, winning six straight and 10 of 11 to make the playoffs for the first time since 2014.

Detroit was 55-63 on Aug. 10 — 10 games past the last wild card — and then took a 31-11 lead. During that span, the Tigers had the lowest ERA in baseball and the largest run differential.

“It’s a dream come true,” first baseman Spencer Torkelson said.

AL Cy Young Award favorite Tarik Skubal leads Detroit's rotation and Jason Foley has emerged as a reliable closer in a strong bullpen. He made his 28th save in the series opener against Chicago.

Riley Greene, an All-Star outfielder, is the team's best player in a lineup that gets timely strikes from top to bottom.

Torkelson, the No. 1 overall pick in 2020, was sent down to the minors during the season and recovered well enough to contribute to the team's late run.

“That’s what makes it so special when you win,” Torkelson said. “It won’t always be perfect. You won't always land a hit. You're not always going to blow the guy away. But just getting through it and persevering, that's what makes it so special.” “

Taking advantage of playing against a historically bad team, Detroit broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning and secured the playoff victory. Jake Rogers scored when Jared Shuster was attacked with a wild pitch, although the ball did not touch the ground just under catcher Korey Lee's glove.

Greene gave Detroit a 3-1 lead with a double in the seventh, and Chicago helped the home team again later in the inning when Fraser Ellard threw the team's third wild pitch of the night.

Detroit overcame long odds to reach the postseason. A month ago, the Tigers were 33-1 on ESPN BET to make the playoffs, and their odds of winning the World Series were as high as 500-1 at some sportsbooks in early September. On Friday, Detroit won the World Series on ESPN BET 30-1.

“Every player I hugged, I remembered a moment of adversity they faced or a moment where we challenged them to do something different, and all of those guys did it,” Harris said on the field after the game. “They rose to the challenge and they deserve it. I’m really, really proud of her.”

The Tigers got off to a strong start in April, winning six of their first seven games in their second full season under Harris and fourth-year coach AJ Hinch. They had a winning record until mid-May, when the team began to slip in the standings.

They appeared to be out of pitching in late July when Kenta Maeda was demoted to the bullpen, Casey Mize and Reese Olson were injured, and Jack Flaherty was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Every time it looked like the Tigers would bounce back, they failed to find sustained success and many fans in the state turned their attention to football.

Hinch got creative, rotating with Skubal and rookie Keider Montero while relying on the bullpen to pitch entire games like the series opener against the White Sox in front of 44,435 fans at Comerica Park.

Skubal and Montero have gone a combined 11-3 since August 1, but only one other starting pitcher has won a game, and that was Brant Hurter against the Los Angeles Angels a month ago.

The Motor City's baseball team salvaged the season and revived interest after finishing previous seasons in a mostly empty ballpark and drawing large crowds.

“It's been a long time since this organization has been in the playoffs and these fans deserve it,” Harris said.

David Purdum of ESPN and The Associated Press contributed to this report.