(WXYZ) — Everything seems to be going right for the Detroit Tigers, and as the team enters the final week of the regular season, they have a magic number for the playoffs.
We'll be updating this story as the team fights for a playoff spot.
Check out the updates below.
Thursday, Sept. 29
3:45 p.m.
The Tigers needed to come behind to win Thursday's series finale with the Tampa Bay Rays, but they got the go ahead run in the top of the 9th to take the game 4-3 and sweep the series, dropping their magic number to 2.
Detroit could still inch even closer to securing a playoff appearance should the Minnesota Twins lose tonight. They'll face the Florida Marlins at home at 7:40 p.m.
There are just three games left in the season for the 85-74 Tigers as they enter a season-ending series at Comerica Park against the historically bad Chicago White Sox, who have a 38-120 record.
The Twins are currently 82-76 and will end the season with a three-game homestand against the 88-70 Baltimore Orioles.
Wednesday, Sept. 25
10:30 p.m.
After the Minnesota Twins beat the Miami Marlins Wednesday night, the Detroit Tigers' magic number remains at 3. The magic number dropped to 3 after the Tigers' win over the Tampa Bay Rays earlier in the night.
Detroit hosts Tampa Bay again on Thursday at 1:10 p.m. and Minnesota plays Miami at 7:40 p.m.
The earliest the Tigers could clinch is Friday night with a win on Thursday and Friday, and a Twins loss on Thursday.
9:30 p.m.
The Detroit Tigers' magic number dropped to 3 with a 7-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night.
Jackson Jobe made his MLB debut in the 9th inning and Parker Meadows hit a lead-off home run.
The team now awaits the results of the Twins vs. Marlins game Wednesday night.
Tuesday, Sept. 24
10:30 p.m.
The Tigers got some help on Tuesday night from the Miami Marlins, who beat the Minnesota Twins 4-1 on Tuesday night.
That drops the magic number to just 4.
Detroit plays the Tampa Bay Rays at 6:40 p.m. on Wednesday and the Twins host the Marlins at 7:40 p.m.
Every time the Tigers win, the magic number decreases by one. Every time the team's closest competitor loses, the magic number also decreases by one.
Here are different scenarios for the Tigers to clinch
- Detroit goes 5-0 or 4-1
- Detroit goes 3-2, Twins have to lose one or more of their last five games
- Detroit goes 2-3, Twins have to lose two or more of their last five games
- Detroit goes 1-4, Twins have to lose three or more of their last five games
- Detroit goes 0-5, Twins have to lose four of their last five games
4 p.m.
The magic number is now five after the Tigers beat the Tampa Bay Rays 2-1 at Comerica Park on Tuesday afternoon.
WATCH BELOW: Tigers fans celebrate after 2-1 win over the Rays on Tuesday
Tarik Skubal threw 7 innings and gave up only two hits, striking out seven, on the way to the win.
Wnceel Perez also hit a ground-rule double in the bottom of the sixth inning to bring home Trey Sweeney and Jake Parker.
Monday, Sept. 23
That magic number is six. That means any combination of Tigers wins and Minnesota Twins losses totaling six gets the Tigers into the MLB Playoffs.
The surging Tigers are 7-3 in the last 10 games, while the Minnesota Twins are 3-7 and the Kansas City Royals are 2-8.
At one time, the Tigers were several games back out of a Wild Card spot, but as of Monday, the Tigers sit in the second Wild Card spot and are four games back from the Baltimore Orioles for the top Wild Card spot.
WATCH BELOW: Tigers making historic postseason push
Detroit has six games this week, all at home. The first three are the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, followed by a final three games against the Chicago White Sox during the weekend.
WATCH BELOW: Tigers fans excited as the team pushes for the playoffs
How does the "magic number" work? According to the MLB, the magic number is the combination of wins needed by the team and losses by its closest competitor.
Every time the Tigers win, the magic number decreases by one. Every time the team's closest competitor loses, the magic number also decreases by one.
In baseball, the phrase "magic number" is used to determine how close a team is to making the playoffs or winning the division. It becomes prominent every year in September as teams begin closing in on clinching.
"The exact formula is: Games remaining +1 - (Losses by second place team - losses by first place team)," the MLB said.
If a new second-place team emerges, that magic number then adjusts to the new second place team.
