Tigers Magic Number (Updated Sept. 27): Detroit nearly historic playoff clinch

UPDATE 9/27: With the Detroit Tigers' come-from-behind win over the Rays and the Marlins' 13-inning victory over the Twins, the magic number is now one.

UPDATE 9/27: The Tigers' Magic Number is now down to three and they have one game remaining against the Rays and three against the White Sox. The Twins and Mariners, who could affect their standing, finish the season against tougher opponents. Minnesota has the Marlins and Orioles while Seattle has the Athletics.

With their close win over the Orioles on Sunday (along with the Twins' and Royals' losses at the hands of the Red Sox and Giants), the Tigers moved into the last Wild Card spot, tied with Kansas City, who are on a stunning seven-game losing streak and are basically giving their playoff spot away. The Twins now sit one game back, and the Mariners are encroaching as well, sitting two games behind.

The Tigers not only moved into a more secure place in the standings and look better than any of the teams around them, they also finally control their own destiny going into October and have a Magic Number to land the No. 6 seed.

The Magic Number "represents the combination of wins needed by that team and losses by its closest competitor to clinch a given goal." The Tigers and Royals, who are now tied for second place in the division at 82-74 with the Twins trailing not far behind, have the same Magic Number: 6.

Tigers move up in the Wild Card standings, control their own playoff destiny after series win over Orioles

There are six games to go in the regular season, and the Tigers will be back at Comerica in front of hopefully full home crowds to take on the Rays and then White Sox to close it out. There's no reason Detroit shouldn't sweep the White Sox, but the Rays, who are 7-3 over their last 10 games, will present a bit more of a challenge.

However, with the Royals and Twins playing very bad baseball as of late and the fact that both have tougher concluding series (the Royals will see the Braves and the Twins will see the Orioles), the Tigers probably won't have to do all the legwork and don't need to sweep both series to make it to October (though two consecutive sweeps at home would be nice).

The Tigers have the upper hand now. Three wins for Detroit and three losses for Minnesota would do the trick to get the Tigers their first playoff appearance since 2014 and break a nine-year postseason drought, the longest in MLB (tied with the Angels).

It's not over until it's over, but the Tigers are still the hottest team in the American League. They're feeling good and looking good, and now they have full say in whether or not they can make this happen.