Heartbreaking news: Detroit Tigers has denied and suspended 7 players including the coach because

MLB: Tigers clinch wild card with sixth straight victory

The red-hot Detroit Tigers earned an AL wild card berth on Friday night, ending a decade-long postseason drought with a 4-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox.

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.

The Tigers will play AL Central champion Houston or Baltimore next week in a best-of-three Wild Card Series, most likely on the road.

The White Sox, meanwhile, set a modern major league record with their 121st loss. They broke the post-1900 record of 120 losses set by the New York Mets in 1962 during their first season. The overall record was set in 1899 by the Cleveland Spiders with a 20-134 record.

Taking advantage of playing a historically bad team, Detroit broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning. 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.

Riley 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.

 

Royals clinch playoff berth despite loss

Max Fried pitched three-hit ball over 8 2/3 innings to lead the Atlanta Braves to a 3-0 victory over Kansas City, but the Royals still got a chance to celebrate their first postseason berth since 2015.

Sean Murphy hit a two-run homer and Marcell Ozuna trotted home on a throwing error after his first stolen base since 2022 for the Braves, who won their fourth straight and sixth in seven games.

Atlanta moved into a tie with the Mets in the NL wild-card race when New York lost 8-4 at Milwaukee.

Despite the loss, the Royals, who matched a franchise record with 106 losses last season, clinched a wild card when Baltimore beat Minnesota 7-2. This is their first playoff appearance since winning the 2015 World Series.

Fried came within one out of a shutout, giving way to Raisel Iglesias when the Royals put runners at second and third. Iglesias retired Salvador Perez on a flyout for his 33rd save.

Fried threw 98 pitches, 63 for strikes. He walked two and struck out nine.