What once seemed impossible now appears inevitable.
The Detroit Tigers enter their three-game home series against the Chicago White Sox with a chance to clinch an American League wild-card playoff berth as early as Friday night.
Detroit (85-74) has won five straight, nine of its past 10 and 14 of its past 17. The Tigers completed a three-game sweep of the visiting Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday afternoon by rallying for a 4-3 victory.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch used all of his position players to get any advantage he could. It paid off as pinch hitter Kerry Carpenter had an RBI single and another pinch hitter, Justyn-Henry Malloy, drove in the go-ahead run with an eighth-inning sacrifice fly.
“It’s just one game of pass the baton,” Malloy said. “Guys just doing what they need to do in big spots when their number is called. Guys wanting those big spots and just wanting to come through for each other. That’s the coolest part about it.”
Detroit second baseman Colt Keith, who had two hits and drove in two runs, added, “We’re bringing the energy right now. I love it. We’ve got such a good group. I love this team.”
Hinch led the 2017 Houston Astros to a World Series title, and his masterful game management has fueled the Tigers’ surge.
“I know what it feels like to accomplish something,” he said. “I want so desperately for these guys to taste it, and we’re getting closer and closer by the day.”
The Tigers enter play Friday tied with the Kansas City Royals (85-74) for the second and third wild-card spots. The Minnesota Twins sit three games back of both teams, and a Tigers win or a Twins loss to the Baltimore Orioles would lock Detroit into the playoffs.
The White Sox have something to play for, too. Chicago (39-120) swept a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels this week and remains tied with the 1962 New York Mets for the modern major league record for losses in a season.
Left-hander Garrett Crochet (6-12, 3.68 ERA) will make not only his last start of the season for the White Sox but possibly his final appearance for the franchise. Crochet was the subject of numerous rumors prior to the trade deadline and remains the team’s biggest bargaining chip heading into the offseason.
Crochet began his breakout season in the season opener, when he held the Tigers to one run while striking out eight in six innings. In something of an omen for the White Sox, they lost that game 1-0. Crochet has been limited to four innings or fewer in his starts since the trade deadline, but he still managed to surpass the 200-strikeout mark in his last outing.
He held the San Diego Padres scoreless for four innings on Sept. 20 while fanning eight, giving him 203 strikeouts in 142 innings for the season.
“I felt really good,” Crochet said. “It’s definitely been a while since I’ve thrown the ball like that. I felt like I had all five pitches going there, so I was able to kind of do what I wanted in most counts.”
The former reliever has made eight career appearances (one start) against Detroit, going 0-1 with a 2.25 ERA.
Crochet was originally scheduled to start on Thursday, but interim manager Grady Sizemore chose to save his ace for the Tigers series.
“I think it’s going to make for good baseball,” Sizemore said. “They’re going to be competing for a playoff spot. We want to throw our best guy up against this team that’s fighting for a playoff spot. These are our rivals.”
The Tigers hadn’t announced a starter as of late Thursday night.
