Parker Meadows, Kerry Carpenter lift Tigers in nail-biting AL Wild Card race

The Orioles-Royals-Orioles stretch of the Tigers' September schedule was supposed to be dangerous territory for Detroit. At the end of August, the Orioles were 78-59 and just 1.5 games behind the Yankees in the AL East, the Royals were 75-62 and 2.5 games behind the Twins, and the Tigers were 69-68 and just fighting to keep their heads above .500 for the first time since 2016.

But when the Orioles rolled into town on Sept. 13, the Tigers took two out of three. It wasn't without some struggle — all three were low-scoring and close — but Detroit still walked away with a series W. They flew out to Kansas City to see the Royals, who had recently overcome a seven-game losing streak, and swept them in three. Then it was the Orioles again, this time at Camden Yards, and the Tigers lost the opener 7-1. Would this finally be the series when the Gritty Tigs started to cool off?

Nope. The Tigers came back in thrilling, extra-inning fashion in the second game after blowing two separate two-run leads. In the series finale, they were not only looking to sweep, but to take that last Wild Card spot back from the Twins, who played a doubleheader on Sunday against the Red Sox.

The finale was won by another slim margin of just one run, but thanks to some bullpen heroics that are starting to become typical fare, some great defense all over the field, and two home runs for Kerry Carpenter, the worst part of the September schedule is over, and the Tigers came out on top.

Tigers take back Wild Card spot with win against Orioles, Royals and Twins losses

Tyler Holton was the opener on the mound for Detroit, and he pitched a scoreless, hitless two innings to start it off. Meanwhile Spencer Torkelson got the scoring started in the top of the second with a first-pitch homer against Albert Suárez, and Trey Sweeney followed a Jace Jung double with a double of his own to score another. Carpenter stepped up in the top of the third, and sent his own homer over the outfield wall on the second pitch he saw.

In the bottom of the fifth, with Ty Madden in after Holton, Cedric Mullins yanked a first-pitch, two-run homer to get the Orioles within one, before Jordan Westburg, in his first game back after almost two months on the IL with a fractured hand, doubled to drive in Gunnar Henderson and tie the game. That was the end of the road for Madden, who gave up three runs on five hits and two walks before Sean Guenther was sent in to replace him.

Guenther looked like he might be in some trouble, too, when Colton Cowser sent a misplaced sinker very high and deep to center field, but never fear, Parker Meadows is here — he leapt and snagged it before it could end up on the other side of the wall to keep things tied.

Carpenter was up again in the top of the sixth and crushed another second-pitch solo homer to put the Tigers back on top. Although the O's threatened a few times through their last four turns at the plate, putting two men on with one in scoring position in the bottom of the sixth, they were no match for Brenan Hanifee, Will Vest, and Jason Foley, who took down Baltimore's batters in order in the bottom of the ninth.

The Tigers won, the Twins lost their first doubleheader game to the Red Sox, and the Royals also lost to the Giants, putting them back on another seven-game losing streak and tying them with the Tigers for the second and third AL Wild Card spots.

Detroit's last two series of the regular season will be against the .500 Rays and a Chicago White Sox team that is teetering on the brink of the wrong kind of record (they're one loss away from matching the 1962 Mets' record for most losses in a single season). If the Tigers could make it through this stretch against the Orioles and Royals not just in one piece, but looking like one of the most complete teams in baseball, then these last six could be tilted more in their favor. October baseball is right on the horizon -- and every Tigers fans is rooting in unison for the Red Sox Sunday evening to extend that half-game cushion to a full game (and duck the tiebreaker, which Detroit does not hold over Minnesota).