Tigers Near Back-to-Back MLB Playoff Berths With Key Win Over Red Sox

The Detroit Tigers entered the final weekend in Boston controlling their own destiny and needed one win Saturday to clinch a postseason berth, which would allow them to save ace Tarik Skubal to start Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series. Keider Montero was announced as Saturday’s starter at Fenway and is expected to be on a short leash, with a rested bullpen available and Chris Paddack lined up for Sunday if the Tigers have already clinched. Skubal — the reigning AL Cy Young winner — has been one of baseball’s most consistent pitchers this year and will be held back for the wild-card opener unless Detroit still needs him to secure the berth on Sunday. Montero owns a 4.48 ERA with 31 walks and 65 strikeouts in 86⅓ innings this season and has had some command issues, so Detroit plans to manage his workload carefully. Despite a rough September stretch (nine losses in 10, 21 of 29), Houston’s loss earlier in the night cut Detroit’s magic number to one and made a Saturday win the preferable path to clinch back-to-back postseason trips for the first time since 2011–14.