Detroit Tigers get another loss from Twins, now 1 win from AL wild-card playoff berth

And then, finally, after 13 innings in Minneapolis, the Detroit Tigers ’ magic number was … one.

The Minnesota Twins lost to the Miami Marlins, 8-6, in extras at home on Thursday night to fall a full three games behind the Tigers and the Kansas City Royals in the American League wild-card playoff chase. (The Tigers and Royals, who both won Thursday , are tied for the second and third wild-card berths, with the Royals owning the head-to-head tiebreaker.)

Minnesota’s loss Thursday means the Tigers can clinch their first postseason berth since the 2014 season — and end MLB’s longest active playoff drought — as early as Friday night with a win against the Chicago White Sox in Detroit. The game at Comerica Park is set to begin at 6:40 p.m. (Bally Sports Detroit). The Tigers have three games in total against the White Sox, with matinees Saturday (1:10 p.m.) and Sunday (3:10 p.m.) to end the regular season at home. The Tigers are 9-1 this season against the White Sox, with series sweeps in March (three games) and August (four games).

Even with a loss, the Tigers could clinch a playoff berth with another loss by the Twins, who begin a three-game series against the AL wild-card leaders, the Baltimore Orioles, at 7:40 p.m. in Minneapolis. The O’s lead the Tigers and Royals by three games. Below them, the Twins have the tiebreaker against both the Tigers and the Royals, meaning they're in if they win all three games over the weekend and either the Royals or Tigers lose all three. A three-way tie for the final two wild-card berths would send the Twins and Royals to the postseason and the Tigers home for the fall.

SHAWN WINDSOR: Tigers on verge of doing something no Detroit sports team has done in a generation

The White Sox are playing to avoid the worst record in MLB history. Since passing the 2003 Tigers for the most losses in AL history (119) and tying the 1962 New York Mets for the most losses in modern baseball history (120) on Sunday, the White Sox have won three straight games.

The top wild-card team hosts the No. 2 wild-card squad in a best-of-three series beginning Tuesday, while the No. 3 wild-card team travels to face the AL West champion, the Houston Astros, in the other best-of-three series, also beginning Tuesday. The Orioles have the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Royals, but the Tigers have the tiebreaker over the O’s. In the event of a three-way tie for the top wild-card spot, the Tigers would prevail, with the best record against the two other teams combined.

The winners of each series advance to face AL East champion New York Yankees (currently the top seed in the league) and AL Central champion Cleveland Guardians (a game behind the Yanks) in the best-of-five AL Division Series beginning Oct. 5.

PLAYOFF PLANNING: When will Tarik Skubal pitch next? Detroit Tigers have two dates, but Skubal hopes for one

The playoff berth, regardless of seed, would cap a stunning turnaround that saw the Tigers go from 10 games out of a playoff spot midway through the season and recover from being eight games under .500 (55-63) entering Aug. 11. In the 46 days since then, the Tigers have gone 30-11 — the best record in baseball over that span — to overtake the Twins.

Minnesota fell behind Miami, the National League’s worst team, early Thursday night, surrendering a one-out double to Jake Burger to score Xavier Edwards in the top of the first inning. The Marlins added three more runs in the fifth inning, with Burger picking up another RBI, but surrendered a two-run lead in the bottom of the eighth after a dropped foul ball with one out gave the Twins new life. The batter, Royce Lewis, walked, advanced to third on a single by Carlos Santana and scored along with Santana on a double by rookie Brooks Lee off the right-field wall at Target Field.

The Marlins pushed a go-ahead run across in the top of the 10 ^th inning, with Jesús Sánchez singling to advance free runner Griffin Conine (who entered as a pinch-runner) to third, followed by Conine scoring on a sac fly by Jonah Bride. In the bottom of the inning, the Twins scored Lewis, who opened the frame as the free runner on second, on a sac fly — caught by former Tiger Derek Hill with an acrobatic move — after Miami reliever Michael Peterson opened the inning with back-to-back walks to load the bases.

Neither team was able to score in the 11th or 12th innings, despite a bases-loaded, one-out situation for the Twins in the bottom of the 11th and two on with no outs to open the bottom of the 12th.

In the 13th, Otto Lopez launched a hanging breaking ball from Scott Blewett into left for a one-out double and the go-ahead run. After a pair of walks, Conine lifted a single just over second base to give the Marlins some breathing room. Miami then, finally, held on for the victory.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers get another loss from Twins, now 1 win from AL wild-card playoff berth