MLB Friday round-up: Tigers and Royals clinch playoff berth, Ohtani chases Triple Crown
By Thomas Schlachter, CNN
(CNN) — As the MLB season nears its conclusion, the playoff picture continues to get clearer with each passing game.
The Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals secured their spot in the playoffs on Friday – ending two of the longest droughts in the MLB.
In a game where unwanted history was made by the Chicago White Sox – setting the MLB record for most losses in a single season in baseball’s modern era – the Tigers celebrated their first playoff berth since 2014.
The Los Angeles Angels are now the sole owners of the longest active playoff drought in the league after the Tigers’ 4-1 win over Chicago.
“I love it. I love the game, I love these guys, I love this group of team. The guys that we’ve got in here, they are incredible and our staff is great, the support staff is awesome,” Detroit’s star pitcher Tarik Skubal told Bally Sports Detroit from a lively changing room postgame.
Skubal has been one of the biggest reasons behind the Tigers’ success this season and the starting pitcher is widely considered the frontrunner for the American League Cy Young Award – an award given to the best pitcher in each league.
“Special teams do special things and we’ve got an opportunity to do something special. … When I asked you in the middle of the season what kind of team do you want to be, I guess you wanted to be a playoff team,” Tigers manager A. J. Hinch said to his players in the changing room before popping the celebratory bottles of champagne and getting the party started.
There were similar scenes in the Kansas City changing room.
The Royals have not been to the playoffs since 2015 and lost 106 games last season. But that didn’t stop the team from bouncing back in style this season.
Despite losing to the Atlanta Braves 3-0 on Friday, the Royals clinched a playoff berth thanks to the Baltimore Orioles beating the Minnesota Twins.
“This is the moment to take it in,” a drenched Vinnie Pasquantino said postgame, per MLB.com. “We were really bad last year. This year, we’re really good. And you get kind of emotional thinking about it. I’m super excited to be in this locker room right now. We’re happy to be here. And we’re not satisfied.”
Royals GM J.J. Picollo issued a similar sentiment on the incredible improvement Kansas City showed this season.
“To get to where we were from where we are, there’s so many people involved,” Picollo said. “So many people played a part in this. To see it all happen is kind of surreal. We felt like it was going to happen. But until it did, you just didn’t know.”
Ohtani continues Triple Crown pursuit
While teams were clinching playoff berths, Shohei Ohtani was continuing his incredible season.
The LA Dodgers and Ohtani beat the Colorado Rockies 11-4 on Friday and the Japanese star had another brilliant outing – as has become the norm for the founding member of the 50/50 club.
Ohtani hit another home run, stole another base and kept his chances of winning the Triple Crown alive.
Ohtani tops the National League charts in home runs with 54 and leads the way in RBIs with 130. The Japanese superstar now needs to chase down the San Diego Padres’ Luis Arraez’s batting average to secure the first Triple Crown since 2012.
“He’s had a tremendous season,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said per MLB.com. “When you get to the one-yard line on certain statistics, whether it’s a potential Triple Crown, a 60-60, whatever it might be, stealing 60 bases, you want to try to get there as best you can.”
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