AL Central playoff race AL Central race

The Detroit Tigers capped off an impressive four-game series with the Los Angeles Angels this afternoon, taking three of four. This follows up a Detroit series win in Baltimore, marking five wins in seven games against the teams that led the wild-card race coming out of the All-Star break. Nor is Detroit’s strong play just a post-All Star phenomenon. Prior to the break, the Tigers swept Kansas City, split four with Minnesota and took three of four from Tampa Bay. All told, Detroit has won 13 of its last 18, is just two games back of the Chicago White Sox in the AL Central playoff race, and even more significantly is now in the lead for one of the wild-card spots. If the season ended today, they would play the Angels in the one-game shootout. TheSportsNotebook looks into Detroit’s strengths and weaknesses, and what’s working so well for them in July.