DETROIT (AP) — Riley Greene hit an RBI double and the Detroit Tigers scored two runs on wild pitches in a 4-1 win over the record-breaking Chicago White Sox on Friday night, clinching a spot in the playoffs for the first time in a decade. Detroit completed a late-season surge to grab an American League wild card, and the White Sox earned an unwanted place in baseball history by setting a modern major league mark with 121 losses this season. The Tigers will play AL Central champion Houston or Baltimore next week in a best-of-three Wild Card Series, most likely on the road.
They have been on a tear, winning six straight and 10 of 11 during a stunning run into the playoffs. The White Sox broke the post-1900 record of 120 losses set by the New York Mets in 1962 during their first season. The overall record was set in 1899 by the Cleveland Spiders with a 20-134 record.
Taking advantage of playing a historically bad team, Detroit broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning on Jake Rogers’ run when Jared Shuster was charged with a wild pitch even though the ball didn’t hit the dirt just below catcher Korey Lee’s glove. Matt Vierling followed with a sacrifice fly. White Sox rookie Zach DeLoach hit his first homer in the sixth to pull his lowly team within a run.
Greene restored Detroit’s two-run lead with a double in the seventh and Chicago helped the home team’s cause again later in the inning when Fraser Ellard threw his club's third wild pitch of the night. Tigers manage.