CHICAGO -- Eighteen years ago, the Tigers came back here the day after the end of the regular season to make up a rainout against the White Sox. Detroit had long since been eliminated from postseason contention, having struggled through Miguel Cabrera’s first season in Detroit. But the game needed to be played to determine whether the White Sox advanced to an AL Central tiebreaker game against the Twins. So the Tigers packed up after their home finale and returned for one more game, putting former White Sox ace Freddy Garcia on the mound in a game the Tigers would lose.
As this year’s Tigers labored through a driving rain Sunday evening, having waited through a three-hour, 50-minute rain delay for an 8-1 loss, it was hard not to think back to that. Unlike that 2008 game, the Tigers didn’t have to come back to the Windy City; they only had to wait all day before playing. They were also still technically alive in the postseason race, though that ended Sunday.
Like that 2008 team, this isn’t how the Tigers’ final days of the regular season were supposed to go.
This is the team that packed drama into their last two stretch runs, from their 2024 surge to capture a Wild Card spot to last year’s fight to salvage a Wild Card after falling out of the AL Central lead. This is the team that thrives on late-season drama and excitement.
As they headed home Sunday night for their final homestand, they have individual greatness to look forward to, from Kevin McGonigle’s final charge for an AL Rookie of the Year case to Justin Verlander’s farewell outing next weekend. What they do not have is a playoff race, having been officially eliminated from contention with Sunday’s loss.
The Tigers had maintained a tenacity to compete until they were eliminated. Realistically, though, they had been preparing for this. Increases in playing time for late-season callups, such as Brett Callahan and John Peck, were made with an eye toward the future, as manager A.J. Hinch, general manager Jeff Greenberg and president of baseball operations Scott Harris try to evaluate who fits in their effort to get back to contention next year. With just nine spots in the lineup, that playing time came at a price for Javier Báez, Gleyber Torres, Spencer Torkelson and Zach McKinstry. Expect some more of that over the coming week.
That will now include the pitching. With River Ryan coming up from Triple-A Toledo to start Monday in his Tigers debut, Verlander tentatively scheduled to start Saturday against the Pirates and Jack Flaherty expected to pitch at some point next weekend, the Tigers have more starters than they have games to start. Expect some piggyback outings, such as Keider Montero on Monday.
“When you start seeing the schedule shortened, we’re going to need to make decisions on the starting guys,” Hinch said. “Being fully transparent, it’s hard to work all this in and keep everybody getting a start. We’ll sort out how it goes based on availability and how we’re going to put together the games.”
That the Tigers worked in so many young players down the stretch and stayed in mathematical contention to this point is as much a credit to Detroit’s young players as it is to the state of the AL Wild Card race. The Tigers entered Sunday having gotten a .783 OPS from hitters age 25 and younger, the fourth-highest such mark in the Majors behind the Cubs, Royals and Braves. Friday’s comeback win over the White Sox came primarily from young players, including McGonigle, Hao-Yu Lee and Riley Greene (who doesn’t turn 26 until Sept. 28).
Still, the Tigers never completely recovered from a 6-22 May slump that took them from .500 and tied for the division lead at the end of April to the Central cellar to the AL’s worst record heading into June. A July revival brought Detroit back to respectability, but not close enough to the race to make the case for keeping Tarik Skubal and Casey Mize at the Trade Deadline.
Still, the Tigers kept going, winning nine out of 12 following the Skubal trade to creep within a game of .500. They woke up on Aug. 14 in the third AL Wild Card spot after taking two of three from the Guardians at Comerica Park, but Riley Greene’s hamstring injury proved one injury too many to overcome.
By the time Greene returned from the injured list on Sept. 1, Detroit stood 11 games under .500 and trailed 11 teams in the AL standings. The 2024 rally taught the Tigers to never say never, but it was also time to look to the kids.