DETROIT – Play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti delivered an epic call as the Detroit Tigers pulled closer to a playoff spot with a win over the Rays on Thursday.
The Tigers got off to a slow start in the series finale, trailing 3-0 through the first five innings. They pulled within a run in the sixth and then took the lead with an incredible rally in the bottom of the eighth.
Jason Foley inherited a 4-3 lead in the ninth inning and slammed the door, finishing with a pair of strikeouts.
As the Comerica Park crowd roared, Benetti summed up the scene perfectly.
“Tigers win again!” Benetti said. “A city that doesn’t care about the odds has a baseball team to match. Out of nowhere, again, the Tigers have won.”
"A city that doesn't care about the odds has a baseball team to match." pic.twitter.com/3debzT6idg
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) September 26, 2024
The Tigers’ playoff odds six weeks ago were below 1% -- 0.2% on Aug. 10, to be exact (per Fangraphs). They’ve gone 30-11 since that day, and their odds are up to 96.4%, as of 5 p.m. Thursday.
Benetti is right. This new version of the Tigers didn’t care about the odds, and Detroiters love a team that embodies the city (just ask Dan Campbell).
It would have seemed outrageous to say “Tigers” and “playoffs” back in mid-August, but now, they’re just inches away from making that a reality.
