Tigers Magic Number to Win AL Central Remains Stuck Amid Slump
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Should the Detroit Tigers start worrying about their American League Central Division lead?
On Saturday, the Tigers lost their third straight game, losing to the Miami Marlins, 6-4. While Detroit (84-65) got good news when it came to their ace, Tarik Skubal, the Tigers lost their third straight game. Worse, the Cleveland Guardians — who are in second place in the division — have won their last three games.
It may be nothing more than a late-season mini-slump, but it is putting the Tigers’ chase to chip away at their magic number to clinch the division on thinner ice than it looked just a few days ago.
Detroit Tigers Magic Number
The Tigers’ magic number to clinch the division title is stuck at eight. That’s a combination of Tigers wins and Guardians losses. Because of the respective streaks, however, Cleveland has made up three games on Detroit in the division standings. The Guardians have gone from 9.5 games back to 6.5 games back as both enter their respective Sunday matchups.
Both are playing terrible teams. The Guardians are facing the White Sox on Sunday. The chance of a sweep is on the table for Cleveland, and the chance of getting swept by the Marlins is on the table for the Tigers. Worse for Detroit, there are six head-to-head matchups with Cleveland ahead later this month.
Detroit also slipped further back in the race for the No. 1 seed in the American League playoffs. Toronto (86-62) beat Baltimore for the second straight game and now has a 2.5-game lead for the No. 1 seed, which comes with home-field advantage throughout the AL playoffs.
Detroit’s last division title was in 2014, and it was the last of a four-season run in which they dominated the division. In that span they went to the World Series in 2012 and reached the ALCS on two other occasions. The Tigers have not won a World Series title since their 1984 team. Detroit went to the playoffs last year as a wild card team and reached the divisional round, where it lost to the Guardians.
Detroit Tigers Magic Number Watch
Magic Number to Clinch AL Central Title: 8
Detroit Tigers Games Remaining: 13
Detroit Tigers Remaining Schedule: Sept. 14, at Miami; Sept. 16-18, vs. Cleveland; Sept. 19-21, vs. Atlanta; Sept. 23-25 at Cleveland; Sept. 26-28, at Boston.
AL Central Race (after Sept. 13)
Detroit Tigers: 84-65 (lead division)
Cleveland Guardians: 77-71 (6.5 games back)
Kansas City Royals: 74-75 (10.0 games back)
Kansas City Royals Remaining Schedule (13 games): Sept. 14, at Philadelphia; Sept. 16-18, vs. Seattle; Sept. 19-21, vs. Toronto; Sept. 23-25, at Los Angeles Angels; Sept. 26-28, at Athletics.
Cleveland Guardians Remaining Schedule (14 games): Sept. 14, vs. Chicago White Sox; Sept. 16-18, at Detroit; Sept. 19-21, vs. Minnesota (four games in three days); Sept. 23-25, vs. Detroit; Sept. 26-28, vs. Texas.
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Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist who covers Major League Baseball for OnSI. He also covers the Big 12 Conference for Heartland College Sports.
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