Another Royals loss (and favorable upcoming schedule) give Tigers fans realistic hope

The Detroit Tigers had a day off Tuesday, but they still gained ground in the playoff race thanks to yet another Kansas City Royals loss.

The Tigers are now 4.5 games back of the third and final American League Wild Card spot, which is currently held by Kansas City. The Royals have now lost seven in a row, and the next several days will be critical in determining their playoff fate (and Detroit's).

The Royals' series against Cleveland is followed by a pair of three-game series against the two teams directly ahead of them in the Wild Card standings: the Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees. Then, they have a trio of road games in which they will likely face the top of the Pittsburgh Pirates' deadly starting rotation in Jared Jones and Paul Skenes.

During that same stretch, the Tigers will wrap up their series against the San Diego Padres before playing back-to-back series against the bottom-feeding Oakland A's and Colorado Rockies. Then, while the Royals are in Pittsburgh, Detroit will face a tough challenge at home against the AL-leading Baltimore Orioles.

Then, from Sept. 16-18, the Tigers and Royals will square off against one another for the final time this season. Depending on how the next 12 days pan out for both teams, this series could be a massive one.

Favorable schedule down the stretch keeps Tigers' playoff hopes alive

The Tigers will then wrap up the regular season against the Chicago White Sox, the worst team in baseball. The Royals, meanwhile, will face a National League playoff team in the Atlanta Braves. Once again, advantage Detroit.

According to FanGraphs, the Tigers have a 9.1% chance of making the playoffs in 2024. Those odds may not jump off the page, but they are more than double what they were just three days ago. The Tigers have a lot of baseball left to play (23 games, to be exact), but the idea of clinching a playoff berth seems to get more feasible with each passing day.

Who could have ever imagined that the 2024 Detroit Tigers would still be playing meaningful baseball in September? We don't know how long this will last, but we sure are enjoying it while it does.

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