Tigers Suddenly Have a Pulse in the AL Playoff Race
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Currently embroiled in a three-game series at Rogers Centre, the Detroit Tigers and the Toronto Blue Jays share some common ground that they'd probably prefer not to.
Both considered World Series candidates coming into the 2026 season, they have each had rather forgettable campaigns that prompted them to sell key pieces at the trade deadline and now see them sit outside the American League playoff picture.
The Blue Jays have since shown resilience while inserting themselves back into the wild card race thanks to some strong play in the aftermath of the trade deadline. Now, the Tigers, winners of five in a row, might be doing the same.
Detroit failed to record a hit over the first six innings of Monday's game in Toronto, bouncing back from deficits of 2-0 and 5-4 to earn a 6-5 road victory over the Blue Jays in the first of what is a critical trio of games for both squads.
The win serves as a fitting parallel to the Tigers' recent late-season surge. With 12 games remaining, it's fair to wonder: is this run real?
Can the Tigers Make a Late Run?
When the calendar switched to September, it had already appeared as though Detroit had thrown in the towel on 2026. They entered the month as losers of 10 of their past 12.
From there, they proceeded to drop key divisional series against the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Guardians. As of September 6, the club sat 10 games back in the AL Central and 7.5 games out of the final wild card spot.
But the middling nature of the American League this season has left the door slightly open for the Tigers. The Guardians, Blue Jays and Rangers, the three teams primarily in the mix for the third wild card spot, are all 5-5 in their past 10 games. Meanwhile, the Central-leading Chicago White Sox are 4-6 in their last ten.
Conversely, Detroit probably isn't as bad as their 71-79 record would seem to indicate. The Tigers actually have the AL's third-best run differential at +71. Not only is it the only positive run differential of any AL team currently outside of the postseason picture, but it's more than 30 runs better than any other AL Central squad.
For all of the bad that has happened in Detroit this season, from the bullpen to the departure of Tarik Skubal, there has been some good. Kevin McGonigle is widely expected to be named AL Rookie of the Year, Max Clark has had a promising major league debut and strong seasons from the likes of Riley Greene and Dillon Dingler has offered optimism for the heart of the club's batting order moving forward.
Tigers' Remaining Schedule Offers Opportunities
If the Tigers' underlying numbers bode well for a possible playoff push, so too does their remaining schedule. More success over the remaining two games in Toronto would automatically allow them to make up ground in the wild card race, while the on-going series between the White Sox and Guardians means that someone ahead of them in the Central has to lose.
From there, Detroit will jump right into a huge four-game series in Chicago - a direct opportunity to pursue an unlikely division title. Then, they close out the regular season with a pair of three-game home series against the already-eliminated Washington Nationals and the Pittsburgh Pirates, who are currently seven games out of the final NL wild card spot.
As any Tigers fan knows all too well, a playoff rally might be highly unlikely, but it's far from unprecedented. Detroit was on the receiving end from an even more incredible comeback just a year ago, seeing their 15.5-game division lead go up in flames as the Guardians rallied back to claim the Central. At the same 150-game mark last season, Cleveland still faced a greater divisional deficit (6.5 games) than Detroit does now (6.0 games).
If you go back two years, the 2024 Tigers erased what was a five-game deficit in the season's final month to reach the postseason.
Never say never, Detroit fans.
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Ben Fisher is a long-time sportswriter and baseball lover, dating back to 2008, when he was a member of the media relations team for the Toronto Blue Jays. He has covered a wide range of sports for a seemingly endless array of publications, including The Canadian Press, Fansided and The Hockey Writers. When he isn't writing about sports, he can be found coaching his equally baseball-obsessed sons' Little League teams.