Kenley Jansen's message to the AL Central should fuel Tigers through this week

Kenley Jansen might give Tigers fans a mild heart attack every time he's on the mound, but he still ends up getting the job done more often than not. After his nerve-wracking save against the Guardians in the Tigers' 6-4 win on Tuesday, which moved Detroit into second place in the AL Central and just half a game back of the Wild Card, he sent a message to the rest of the division.

"We all had an awful start," he said. "It's a long season. They're going to remember you as how you finish. So what you do is big for this ballclub. I think we're all stepping up right now, and if we step up, I don't think there's anybody better than us in this division, respectfully."

The Tigers needs veterans like Jansen to tempt fate a little and dare the rest of the Central to stop us. Even though the Guardians got the better of us on Wednesday, the Tigers were still 7-3 in August going into Thursday's game. They've done nothing but creep up the standings and defy expectations since the trade deadline, and there are still a lot of games to play.

Tigers get an injection of life from Kenley Jansen during crucial AL Central week

If you were to poll 100 Tigers fans, the majority would say that the Guardians are our biggest rival. Even though the White Sox have ruled the division basically since early June, Cleveland's success will always be more infuriating.

You can see it on the field; the Guardians have had the Tigers' number all year. Before their win on Tuesday, Detroit was 0-6 against them this season. By contrast, they're 3-3 against Chicago going into this week's series.

The Guardians and White Sox both bought at the trade deadline, while the Tigers were undisputed sellers. And yet, both teams came into this week with worse records in August than Detroit.

No matter the outcome of this season, Tigers fans are going to keep talking about what could've been if this team stayed healthy in May, because they've already proven exactly how good they can be with a roster at full power. They've been the second-best team in the AL since June 1.

So Jansen is right. When the Tigers are healthy, there's literally no one better in the division. This is the week when they really get to prove it.

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