Tigers snap decade-long postseason wait with win over White Sox - ESPN

DETROIT — The Detroit Tigers earned an AL wild card berth on Friday night, ending a decade-long postseason drought.

Detroit clinched a spot in the playoffs with a 4-1 win over the Chicago White Sox, who set a modern major league record with their 121st loss.

The Tigers have been on a tear, winning six straight and 10 of 11 to surge into the playoffs and eliminate the defending AL Central champion Minnesota Twins from the race.

Since Aug. 11, when Detroit was eight games under .500 and counted out of contention, it has been the hottest team in the majors with 31 wins in 42 games with the lowest ERA in baseball and the largest run differential.

AL Cy Young Award favorite Tarik Skubal leads Detroit's rotation and Jason Foley has become a reliable closer in a strong bullpen.

Riley Greene, an All-Star outfielder, is the team's top player in a lineup that gets timely hitting from the top to the bottom.

Taking advantage of playing a historically bad team, Detroit broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning Friday night. Jake Rogers scored when Jared Shuster was charged with a wild pitch even though the ball didn't hit the dirt just below catcher Korey Lee's glove.

Greene put Detroit ahead 3-1 with a double in the seventh, and Chicago helped the home team's cause again later in the inning when Fraser Ellard threw the team's third wild pitch of the night.

Detroit overcame long odds to reach the postseason. A month ago, the Tigers were 33-1 to make the playoffs at ESPN BET, and their odds to win the World Series were as long as 500-1 in early September at some sportsbooks. On Friday, Detroit was 30-1 to win the World Series at ESPN BET.

The Tigers came out of the gates strong in April, winning six of their first seven games in their