Tigers keep playoff hopes alive with Parker Meadows' historical 9th-inning grand slam

On Thursday night in San Diego, the Tigers sent a message that, even if the rest of baseball might underestimate them, they're never fully down for the count.

The first two games of their series against the Padres were both losses; in the opener, they suffered a shutout at the hands of Joe Musgrove and three Padres relievers, and they took a brutal loss on Wednesday, with Keider Montero blowing a five-run lead and Jason Foley, usually excellent, giving up a walk-off RBI single Fernando Tatis Jr. in extra innings after intentionally walking Luis Arráez.

Their last game looked like it might go about the same way as the first. Jurickson Profar and Xander Bogaerts got San Diego off to an early lead with two homers off Casey Mize. He allowed only four more hits and no runs during his 5 1/3 inning outing, but the Tigers offense wasn't clicking. They got five hits off of Martín Pérez, but couldn't turn any of them into runs.

But then, in the top of the ninth, four Tigers rookies fully encapsulated what this team is building toward. Justyn-Henry Malloy singled, Jace Jung (pinch hitting for Jake Rogers) walked, and then Colt Keith walked after a pop out from Spencer Torkelson. Kerry Carpenter struck out, and then one out away from leaving the bases loaded, up came Parker Meadows.

He got to a full count against Robert Suarez, and with the Tigers down to their last strike, saw a 100.7 MPH fastball at the top of the zone. Swing, crack, gone. Grand slam, 4-3 Tigers. It was Detroit's first grand slam of that nature since Alan Trammell hit one against the Yankees in 1988.

Parker Meadows and the Tigers rookies played hero to avoid a sweep against the Padres

In the bottom of the ninth, the Padres did threaten a little bit with a Bogaerts single off of Tyler Holton, but Jackson Merrill promptly flew out to bring the game to a close. Detroit's playoff odds had dipped with their two previous losses, but they went back up to 7.3% as the Tigers improved to 71-70, tied with the Mariners and five games back of the last Wild Card spot.

Time is running out, and the Twins and Royals also both won their most recent games, but the Tigers aren't done. Over their next six games, they'll visit the Athletics in Oakland and then head home to host the Rockies — if the Tigers sweep both, then our hopes will really be up. They'll see the Orioles, Royals, and then Orioles again for a difficult nine-game stretch, so the Tigers need to build momentum and get into a groove against the A's and Rockies.

The season will come to a close with a series against the Rays and then the White Sox to bookend 2024. It really could come down to the very last week, but if the Tigers showed us anything on Thursday night, it's that they'll do everything in their power to claw their way up to a postseason spot.