Tigers fall to Twins in 11, 4-3; Reds & Pirates enter playoffs

Despite getting six scoreless innings from Justin Verlander in which he struck out 12, the Tigers were unable to hold on to the lead as Twins rookie catcher Josmil Pinto hit a one-out opposite-field single to right in the 11th inning to bring home Brian Dozier for a Minnesota 4-3 win over Detroit.

The Tigers’ AL Central Division lead on 2nd-place Cleveland is down to 4 ½ games, and their magic number is stuck at 2 again.  The Indians are set to open a two-game series at home against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Detroit will play their 2nd game of the 4-game series against Minnesota this Tuesday night at 8 pm.  All the Tigers need is a win and a Cleveland loss to become AL Central champs once again.




Shin-Soo Choo drove in the winning run with a single off the wall in the 10th inning as the Cincinnati Reds secured their third playoff spot in four years with a 3-2 win over the New York Mets.  While the Reds were too focused on reaching the top of the NL Central Division to celebrate and as Washington lost to St. Louis, a 21-year playoff drought was brought to a close as the Pittsburgh Pirates clinched at least a National League wild card spot with a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs.  It's Pittsburgh's first trip to the postseason since Barry Bonds & company, lead by now-Tigers manager Jim Leyland, won three straight NL East titles from 1990-92.


MAGIC NUMBERS AROUND THE LEAGUE

NL CENTRAL - St. Louis down to 4 after defeating Washington and Cincinnati defeating the N.Y. Mets
AL WILD CARD - Tampa Bay & Cleveland remain at 6 after Texas shut out Houston with Indians idle