Tigers' playoff odds have plummeted horribly but one last gasp at hope exists

With their series loss to the Dodgers, the Tigers fell to 10 games below .500, nine games back of the AL Central-leading White Sox and 5.5 games out of a Wild Card race.

We've been saying the same thing for months: with the state of the American League right now, anything could happen. Even with the end of the season closing in fast, all it might take is one good run.

That gets exhausting after a while, and the loss to the Dodgers was undeniably demoralizing. At some point it might be nice to just forget about the postseason, sit back, and watch the young guns learn in real time.

... But there's still a chance. Literally. To be fair, it's not much — FanGraphs puts the Tigers' odds of making the playoffs at 1.5% — but it's not zero, and the Tigers' next 10 games could be the real decider.

They have a seven-game road trip on deck, three in Minneapolis and four in Cleveland, before they see the Twins in Detroit for three more games. Even going a perfect 10-0 wouldn't guarantee the Tigers a playoff spot, but it would allow them to make up some real ground in the division race.

Tigers' next 10 games will make or break their postseason chances (but for real this time)

The Tigers are 1.5 games back of the Twins and 5.5 games back of the Guardians. If they sweep Twins and the Blue Jays — who are on a three-game winning streak — dispatch of the Guardians, there is a world in which the Tigers take second place in the AL Central after the two teams finish their series in Cleveland. A series win in the Tigers' second against Minnesota during this stretch would allow them to put more distance between them and the rest of the pack.

After that, the Tigers have a relatively easy schedule on paper. They'll see the Rockies, Blue Jays, White Sox, Nationals, and then close out the season against the Pirates. If they make it through this 10-game stretch at 6-4, their hopes won't be completely dead.

And if they don't, well ... then there's no pressure through the rest of the season. We've all started to come to terms with the fact that the Tigers aren't a playoff team this year, but we can keep a candle burning for this next week and a half before letting it go.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow