DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers have a chance to do something tonight that they haven’t done in eight years.
Coming into Monday night’s game against the Chicago White Sox, the Tigers are 65-66, which means they can reach .500 with a win.
The Tigers haven’t had a .500 record at any point after the All-Star break since 2016, the last time they finished a season with a winning record (86-75).
Eight years of losing
Here’s the closest the Tigers have gotten to a .500 post-break record in the seven seasons since 2016:
- 2017: 51-57 on Aug. 4.
- 2018: 47-62 on Aug. 1.
- 2019: 28-58 on July 7 (at the All-Star break).
- 2020: No All-Star break due to COVID. The Tigers started 17-16.
- 2021: 58-61 on Aug. 14.
- 2022: 38-55 on July 21.
- 2023: 78-84 on Oct. 1 (final record).
There were times in 2021 and 2023 when it looked like the Tigers were trending toward breaking through that .500 barrier. Unfortunately, there always seemed to be a losing streak to keep them at arm’s length.
Flirting with .500 this season
The Tigers have been hovering in the neighborhood of .500 for the entire 2024 season, but they haven’t actually been there since June 7, when a 10-0 loss to the Brewers dropped their record to 31-32.
Since then, the Tigers have fallen as far as nine games below .500. Rock bottom came on the Fourth of July, when the Tigers got smacked by the Twins, 12-3, in just seven innings, to fall to 39-48.
Detroit immediately rallied to win eight of its final 10 games before the All-Star break, and has gone a very respectable 18-16 so far in the second half.
It certainly helps to have a four-game series against the White Sox, who are on pace to finish with the worst 162-game record in MLB history. Chicago is fielding a proverbial Triple-A roster since the trade deadline, and the Tigers have taken advantage so far, with three wins by a combined score of 27-10.
If they can just get one more, they’ll reach that elusive milestone -- one that has evaded them narrowly so many times during the A.J. Hinch era.
Monday’s game
The Tigers are turning to a rookie starting pitcher Monday, as Ty Madden will make his major-league debut.
It’s a savvy move by the Tigers to give Madden a shot at the lowly White Sox in his first MLB start, but he hasn’t exactly been dominant against minor-league-caliber competition.
In fact, this season has been a disaster for the former first-round draft pick. Madden owns a 7.97 ERA and 1.772 WHIP across 79 innings for the Toledo Mud Hens. He’s striking out 11.6 batters per nine, but also allowing way too many homers and walks.
The Tigers’ broadcast pointed toward Madden’s strikeout and walk rates in August when discussing his promotion, and it’s true: He’s whiffed 37 and walked just five in 24 innings this month. His 20% swinging strike rate during that span is astronomical.
But he’s also allowed 15 earned runs, good for a 5.63 ERA. Batters are hitting .286 with a .780 OPS against him in August.
Chicago will counter with Davis Martin, a 27-year-old righty who’s sporting a 3.22 ERA and 1.39 WHIP through 22.1 innings.
Playoff race
Win or lose Monday, the Tigers’ recent hot streak hasn’t done much for their playoff hopes.
Detroit is still 10.5 games out of the AL Central lead and 7.5 games behind the final AL wild card spot. Realistically, they aren’t even in the picture.
But you never know what can happen, right? Nine of the Tigers’ next 15 games will come against the Angels, Athletics, and Rockies -- three of the five worst teams in MLB. If they’re going to make a late push, it’s now or never.
The fact that we can even have that conversation is a testament to the bullpen and the young position players on the Tigers’ roster right now.
It certainly looked like this season could go south in a hurry after the trade deadline. The Tigers traded away four contributors -- including Jack Flaherty -- and lost Reese Olson and Riley Greene to injury. Casey Mize and Kerry Carpenter were also on the injured list.
But Hinch and his players have risen to the challenge, as they so often do in the second half.
Parker Meadows returned and was joined by newcomers Jace Jung, Trey Sweeney, and Dillon Dingler. Greene, Carpenter, and Spencer Torkelson are back in the everyday lineup. Beau Brieske, Bryan Sammons, Tyler Holton, and Brant Hurter are stepping up in bulk relief roles.
It hasn’t been conventional, but the Tigers are finding a way to win games. The result is perhaps the best season we’ve seen in eight years.
