Tigers clinch playoff berth: Despite historic collapse, Detroit set for return trip to MLB postseason

The Detroit Tigers became Major League Baseball’s latest team to clinch a playoff berth on Saturday with a 2-1 win over the Red Sox (box score). In turn, the Tigers will be making consecutive postseason appearances for the first time since 2013-14 — that despite an abysmal final two months that saw them squander a seemingly insurmountable division lead.

The exact nature of Detroit’s playoff berth is to be determined. The Tigers entered Saturday tied with the Cleveland Guardians for first place in the American League Central. That is a technical tie only, however, since the Guardians won the head-to-head season series against the Tigers, giving them the tiebreaker advantage. The Tigers can still win the AL Central — the division that, mind you, they led by 10 games as recently as Sept. 3 — but they’ll need to do it in an outright fashion.

Stumbling, staggering Tigers have clawed their way to an MLB playoff berth — now it’s all down to Game 162

Julian McWilliams

Even with the Tigers’ collapse, they can credit their return trip to the playoffs to a few key contributors. Left-hander Tarik Skubal is likely to win his second Cy Young Award in a row after tallying 2.21 ERA (187 ERA+) and a 7.30 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 31 starts. Meanwhile, a collection of unsung positional players — utility player Zack McKinstry, catcher Dillon Dingler, second baseman Gleyber Torres, outfielder Riley Greene, and first baseman Spencer Torkelson — each cleared 2.5 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball Reference’s estimates.

The AL playoff picture is nearly complete now. The Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, and Seattle Mariners had already locked down spots, with the Mariners clinching their first AL West division title since 2001.