DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers’ playoff odds got an unexpected boost during their day off Tuesday.
Detroit traveled to San Diego on Monday and dropped the series opener against the Padres, which kept them five games behind the Royals and dropped them six games behind the Twins in the race for the final two wild card spots.
The Tigers got a rare Tuesday off this week, and they’ll return to the ballpark Wednesday in even better shape than when they left.
Tuesday night went as well as it could have for the Tigers, as the Twins, Royals, Red Sox, and Mariners all lost.
That means the Tigers pulled with 4.5 games of that final wild card spot held by the Royals. They’re 5.5 behind the Twins for the second wildcard spot.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox now have the exact same record as the Tigers. The Mariners dropped a full game behind with their loss to the Oakland A’s.
None of this will matter if the Tigers don’t get back on track immediately. There are only 23 games left in the season, and 4.5 games is a lot of ground to make up in that time.
It starts with two more in San Diego before the Tigers begin a six-game stretch against the A’s and Rockies -- a massive opportunity.
