DETROIT 鈥 The Detroit Tigers were 55-63 entering Aug. 11 last year. They trailed the Twins by 10 games for a Wild Card berth and their playoff odds were at 0.2 percent, quite literally next-to-nothing.
They had already sold off at the trade deadline by the time they started winning, but a young core led them from fourth place in the division to a 31-13 finish to the season, during which they passed the Twins and gained a playoff berth in the process.
They haven鈥檛 stopped winning since.
They entered Friday 51-31, their record tied with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the best in the majors. And now, it appears, the American League Central runs through Detroit as the Tigers continue to surpass all of the external expectations set for them.
Where FanGraphs had the Twins鈥 playoff odds at 36.2 percent to win the division the day before the season began, ahead of the Tigers at 26.8 percent 鈥 and many betting sites had the Twins taking the division, too 鈥 the two teams have taken divergent paths this season and now it鈥檚 the Tigers that have emerged as the division鈥檚 top cat.
They began the day with a 9 1/2-game lead over second-place Cleveland and an 11 1/2-game lead over the Twins.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 like to sit here and heap compliments on other teams,鈥 manager Rocco Baldelli said, before doing so. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e done well in all facets and they鈥檝e had some players that have developed very well and progressed and gotten better and better. They鈥檙e getting a lot out of a lot of different guys.鈥
Led by last year鈥檚 American League Cy Young Award winner, Tarik Skubal, whom the Twins are slated to see on Sunday night, the Tigers have been among the best pitching team鈥檚 in baseball. Their 3.46 earned-run average entering Friday was tied for sixth in the majors.
The team entered the day with a .747 team OPS, good for fifth in the majors. Riley Greene, the fifth overall pick in the 2019 draft, has led the way with a 2.6 bWAR (Wins Above Replacement per Baseball Reference). And after a dreadful year last season, which was interrupted by injuries, Javier B谩ez鈥檚 resurgence has been a major storyline.
鈥淵ou (could) see the pieces they had,鈥 Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think anyone really knew exactly what you were going to get out of some of the young hitters, some of the bullpen guys that no one had heard of before, but they鈥檝e built a really good team over there and they鈥檙e playing really good ball.鈥
Twins opt against opener
The last time David Festa pitched, the Twins opted to start Danny Coulombe first, letting him face a pair of lefties near the top of the Milwaukee Brewers鈥 lineup.
Doing such a thing again, was a possibility, Baldelli acknowledged, especially with the lefties the Tigers have in their lineup, but after initially listing Friday鈥檚 starter as TBA, the Twins ended up opting for Festa.
鈥淥n days where we鈥檙e going to be deciding some things and deciding who鈥檚 going to start a given game for us, sometimes we need a little extra time,鈥 Baldelli said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 just normal. There鈥檚 nothing too different or crazy about that.鈥
The Twins are offering a complimentary ticket to a future game for fans who purchased tickets for Thursday鈥檚 game, which was eventually played after being delayed by four hours and 22 minutes. It was the second-longest rain delay in Target Field history. 鈥 Bailey Ober will start Saturday鈥檚 game against the Tigers. He will be opposed by Casey Mize.