Detroit — The Chicago White Sox were so bad, historically so, just two years ago. The Detroit Tigers were so bad, unbelievably so, just three months ago. And, yet, here they are, at Comerica Park this weekend, in a tug-of-war for first place in the American League Central that's so damn shocking — given where the White Sox, who in 2024 set the major-league record for losses, and the Tigers, who seemed to have blown the season with a horrific month of May, have come from. The Midwest rivals somehow began Friday night's pivotal three-game series with 2.5 games of each other in the standings, with the White Sox on top and the Tigers in second place.
Less than three months ago, at the end of May, the Tigers were 16 games under .500 and 11.5 games out of first place. They entered Friday night's game at 60-61, on the brink of reaching the break-even point for the first time since May 4. They've won their last four series, including the last series against the Cleveland Guardians, and they've won nine of their last 11 games leading into the White Sox series, the biggest of the season to date. "Our work has been very focused, our understanding of the marathon," Tigers manager AJ Hinch said after Thursday's 3-0 win over the Guardians to clinch that series, after Cleveland won the first six meetings this season. "Man, have we been on a rollercoaster. For whatever reason, the makeup of this team has been very consistent. "We've been able to just put one foot in front of the other. I'm very proud. We come ready to play every day. You don't see a team that pouts, you don't see a team that sulks, you don't see a team that quits. You don't see a team that really gets too enamored with the noise around us. I would say that in both positive and negative days. "That's really what's gotten us to, what, Game 121, 122. And we're going to need to do it 40 more times. "And we'll see where we are at the end." The Tigers may well end up in the end where they ended up the last two seasons in the playoffs, trying their hardest to survive yet another thrill ride — after rallying from a huge deficit in 2024 to make the postseason for the first time in a decade, and then having held on for dear life after blowing a huge lead in the division in 2025. The Tigers are trying to become the first team in baseball history to rally from at least 16 games under .500 to win a division title. They've already done something they've never done before in 126 years of Tigers baseball, and that's making things interesting after starting the season 22-38. According to Chris Brown of Tigers Minor League Report, the Tigers have started 22-38 or worse in a season six other times. Here's how they ended those seasons:
1920: 61-93 1952: 50-104 1953: 60-94 1996: 53-109 2002: 55-106 2003: 43-119
The Tigers and White Sox met in the last series of May, when Detroit got swept out of Chicago. That capped a 6-22 month of May for the Tigers, and dropped them to 22-38. Since then, the Tigers have gone 38-23 (entering Friday), tied for the second-best record in baseball during that span. How did Hinch and Co. turn this thing around, and so drastically? There are a whole lot of reasons, and we don't have the time to get into all of them. We'd be here all weekend, and, did we mention, there's a big series to watch! But let's take a quick look at a few of them. The M&M boys It all starts with starting pitching. Tigers starters have been dynamite for two-plus months, posting a 2.81 ERA since the start of June. That's the best ERA in Major League Baseball during that span, with the Miami Marlins (3.19) and Boston Red Sox (3.40) the next-closest. Opponents have a .631 OPS against Tigers starters; that's the lowest in baseball since June 1. And leading the way have been two guys who weren't counted on to anchor this staff: Right-handers Troy Melton and Keider Montero. They have a 3.8 and 3.2 WAR, respectively. That makes them the two most valuable pitchers this year for the Tigers, ahead of Tarik Skubal (2.9) and Casey Mize (2.8), who, in case you haven't heard, aren't Tigers anymore — the free agents-to be were traded away to the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, respectively, for prospects, before the Tigers' playoff prospects really took off over the last two weeks. Both Melton and Montero have been fascinating. Melton began the season on the injured list with right elbow inflammation, and returned in late May. Since then, he's made 13 starts, and the Tigers have won 11 of those games. He has a 1.46 ERA and 0.900 WHIP, runaway Cy Young numbers had he been with the team since Opening Day. As for Montero, he was among the final cuts in camp, but quickly was called up to take Justin Verlander's start April 5, and he hasn't left. A guy who's bounced between the bullpen and the rotation his first two seasons has become a gutsy, gritty anchor of the starting five. His WAR this season is four times what it was his first two seasons combined.
Maybe the kids don't know any better The Tigers saw this in 2024, when they sold at the trade deadline, and then watched as a team made up largely of the so-called kids rallied all the way from a 0.2% chance of making the playoffs to the most improbable of October tickets. The Tigers' playoff odds never got anywhere near that low this year — FanGraphs pegged them at 11.6% on June 1 (they're 37.4% today) — in large part because the American League is so mediocre (and that's being kind) in 2026. But the kids are again defying the odds, maybe because they're two naive to know that teams aren't supposed to come back from the depths where the Tigers resided at the end of May. (The 2024 Tigers' low-water mark was only nine games under .500.) All season long, the Tigers' offense has been led by a former first-round pick (rookie-of-the-year favorite Kevin McGonigle) and a second-round pick (Dillon Dingler, who'll get MVP votes), and especially in June, when the offense exploded for 49 home runs and a .797 OPS (after hitting just 18 homers with a .597 OPS in May). More recently, top prospect and former first-round pick Max Clark has entered the picture and provided a spark, as has slugger Eduardo Valencia. Hao-Yu Lee has delivered several huge moments with the bat, too. And on the pitching side, former No. 1 pick Jackson Jobe has returned from Tommy John surgery with an electric first start back. He's not a kid anymore, but Spencer Torkelson, a former 1-1 pick, deserves mention, too. He's had a career that's frustrated fans, but he has an OPS over 1.000 with runners in scoring position this year and he's heating up again.
They've gotten healthier, if not healthy Early in the season, Hinch was asked repeatedly how much injuries were to blame for the Tigers' malaise (in April) and misery (in May). He tried to not use them as the excuse, but it was clear they were one excuse, and a pretty big one. Nearly 90% of the Tigers' 40-man roster this season has spent time on the injured list, and several of those being players expected to be major contributors (including two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, when he was still a Tiger), and several of them had extended stays. Interestingly, the team still has its share of big health issues, with outfielders Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter out, as well as starting pitcher Jack Flaherty. But second baseman Gleyber Torres is back, as is shortstop/outfielder Javy Baez, and those are major upgrades to the offense and defensive, respectively. (By the way, the defense's improvement since May is another key reason for the remarkable turnaround). Melton and, more recently, Jobe have returned, and veteran closer Kenley Jansen is healthy again and throwing as well as he has all season, providing swing-and-miss stuff for a bullpen that still remains the major concern with this team moving forward. Getting healthier didn't exactly infuse the 2026 Tigers with an unlimited supply of stars, but it lengthened the list of options for Hinch, who at many moments in May had to feel like he was out of options, even if he did his best not to admit as much. More importantly, it lengthened the lineup, which wasn't going to get it done with the likes of Matt Vierling (who's injured), and Jahmai Jones, Jake Rogers, Zack Short, Gage Workman (who no longer are Tigers). In turn, that lengthened the season, which seemed cooked in May — and now seems like it's just getting started. tpaul@detroitnews.com @tonypaul1984
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Tigers were cooked. Now, they're cooking. What fueled wild turnaround?