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Tigers broadcaster's emotional call of win vs. Rays has emboldened city of Detroit

Fitting.
Emma Lingan
Emma Lingan

Motor City Bengals

Mar 15, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; FS1 announcer Jason Benetti during the game between the Colorado Buffaloes and the Washington State Cougars at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Detroit Tigers were never supposed to be here. They weren't supposed to be fighting for a playoff spot in September, and after falling behind 3-0 early to the Tampa Bay Rays, they weren't even supposed to win Thursday's game.

But never, ever tell anyone in Detroit the odds. In this city, they don't matter.

The Tigers came roaring back to defeat the Rays, 4-3, in their 36th comeback victory of the season. Fittingly, it was a full team effort, with rookies like Colt Keith and Justyn-Henry Malloy leading the charge offensively.

As reliever Jason Foley slammed the door by striking out Jose Siri to secure the final out in the ninth inning, Bally Sports Detroit play-by-play broadcaster Jason Benetti perfectly captured the gritty spirit of a city that refuses to quit or be defined by its struggles.

"A city that doesn't care about the odds," he said, "has a baseball team to match."

It's a beautiful call, and one that perfectly encapsulates the Tigers' gritty second-half resurgence that has seen them achieve the impossible.

Tigers can clinch playoff berth as early as Friday in series opener vs. White Sox

Once again, the Tigers were never supposed to be here. But even with the odds stacked against them, they refused to quit.

On Aug. 10, the Tigers had an 11-game playoff deficit and less than 1% odds to make the postseason. Since then, they have done the unthinkable, going 30-11 over their last 41 games and surging to a three-game lead over the Minnesota Twins in the American League Wild Card race entering the regular season's final series at Comerica Park this weekend.

Detroit's odds to make the playoffs are now up to 96.6%, according to Fangraphs. The Tigers' magic number is down to one, and they can clinch a playoff berth as early as Friday against Benetti's former team, the historically bad Chicago White Sox.

The Tigers control their own postseason fate. All they need is one win over the worst team in baseball to make their playoff dream a reality.

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Emma Lingan

Emma Lingan

Emma Lingan is an MLB Staff Writer for FanSided primarily covering the Pittsburgh Pirates. She has been covering baseball for more than a decade dating back to her time as a student at Wake Forest University, and she has won two gold medals as a member of the U.S. National Team delegation (2016 Pan-American Championships & 2017 World Baseball Classic). A native of Washington, D.C. and current resident of Nashville, Tenn., she is also entering her seventh season as a credentialed NHL media member and currently covers the NHL’s Nashville Predators for The Hockey News. When she's not watching hockey, baseball or football, she enjoys podcasting, reading, going to the gym, consuming large amounts of coffee and taking long walks with her dog, Minkah. You can follow her @Emma_lingan on Twitter and Instagram.