Tigers reduce magic number to three with 7-1 win over Rays

Detroit — Are you ready for this, Detroit?

What felt like a dream a month ago is now becoming inevitable. Even the players are starting to feel it.

“Yeah, a little bit,” Parker Meadows said. “We want it. But we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves. We’re just going to keep playing our game and keep having fun.”

With the 7-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night, the Tigers reduced their magic number to three. They could secure their first playoff spot since 2014 as early as Friday.

“We’re doing our best to make everyone in town proud of us,” said manager AJ Hinch. “It means a lot to us that our fans care. Tonight was an electric atmosphere. That’s exactly what we want at Comerica Park.”

The crowd was reported at 32,463, but with their relentless energy, it felt bigger. They gave rookie starter Keider Montero a supportive round of applause even though he didn’t last the third inning. They gave left-hander Sean Guenther a rousing round of applause after he left the field in the fifth inning after striking out six batters in a row.

They roared with every base hit and every aggressive play. But they saved the best for last. They stood up when 22-year-old rookie Jackson Jobe came out of the bullpen and took the major league stage for the first time. And they chanted “Jobe, Jobe, Jobe” when he made the final three outs in the ninth inning to secure the win.

“He looked really relaxed,” Meadows said. “He was making the shots. He was in the zone. It looked like he had been out there before. When the crowd chanted his name like that, I got goosebumps at midfield. It was pretty cool.”

Meadows was the first to get the crowd to its feet.

Rays starter Zack Littell had an 18-inning scoreless streak in this game. It lasted two pitches. Meadows hit a 1-0 slider into the right field seats.

His ninth home run left his bat with an exit velocity of 109.6 miles per hour. He was scalded.

“Striking first is great,” said Spencer Torkelson, who later took his turn to excite the crowd. “It gives us confidence and I know it gives our pitchers even more confidence to just trust their stuff and attack the hitters.”

Riley Greene followed Meadows with a two-out double and scored on a single by Wenceel Perez, and the Tigers got off to a quick 2-0 start.

“We talk a lot about wanting to get going right away, especially under circumstances like this,” Hinch said. “We escaped the beginning of the first (Montero left two runners behind) and then we scored at the end. Everyone together, fans, coaches, players, we’re taking a deep breath and everyone’s coping.”

Meadows struck again in the third inning, leading off with a single (104.6 mph off his bat) and getting to second base on a single by Matt Vierling.

RESULT: Tigers 7, Rays 1

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“It’s really special to have a head start on something this time of year.”

Greene followed with a bullet single to right (109 mph). Right fielder Josh Lowe caught the ball on a leaping catch. The only person in the park who thought Meadows had a chance to score was Joey Cora, the Tigers’ third-base coach.

Moving his arms like a pinwheel, Meadows kicked things up a gear. Statcast timed him from third to the finish line in 3.15 seconds, his fastest time over the distance this season.

Meadows slid across the plate without making a play.

“We let Joey make a lot of decisions at third base and you see a lot of guys scoring,” Hinch said. “It was probably easier than it looked because of our leadership in the secondary, our baserunning and our aggressiveness. To play winning baseball, you have to play well in all facets and we did that.”

There’s a reason the Tigers are 52-26 when Meadows is in the lineup. He had three hits on Wednesday.

Torkelson, who has struggled this month (13 for 70), fired a 2-2 slider from right-handed reliever Manuel Rodriguez in the sixth inning for his 10th career start.^th Home run.

He dropped four balls in a row before hitting one 420 feet, almost reaching the bleachers in left field.

“Just sticking with it, trusting it and knowing it’s going to work out for the best,” Torkelson said. “It was a great feeling to get that hit.”

More: “I just want to be a part of it”: Tigers’ Casey Mize continues to take the hits

Torkelson struck again in the eighth inning, his double to third base scoring Zach McKinstry from first base.

“We need Tork to be a threat,” Hinch said. “Tonight was a reminder. He had a couple of hard shots and then boom. He changed the dynamic of the game. You can see the impact he can have. He kept his great demeanor and competitiveness.”

“He’s always just one punch away.”

There are several reasons why the Tigers also have the best record in baseball since August 11 (29-11). One of them is their strong pitching. They entered the game with the lowest ERA and WHIP in baseball.

Five different relievers helped Montero. Guenther allowed just two runs in 19.1 innings after his six outs (three by strikeout) since being called up from Triple-A Toledo. Brenan Hanifee (one inning), Tyler Holton (1.1) and Will Vest (one inning) took the game to the ninth inning and to Jobe.

More: AL wildcard race: Tigers playoff chances at 91.1%, magic number drops again

The big board greeted Jobe with a hype video, and the crowd that had been waiting since Jobe started warming up in the eighth inning went wild.

“I don’t know how many of you were welcomed to Comerica Park like Jackson Jobe was, but that was pretty incredible,” Hinch said. “Just the excitement. You can never be perfect in those situations, but we were as close to perfect as we could get.”

Jobe allowed a one-out single to Logan Driscoll, but managed two ground outs and a routine fly out to end the game.

“They convinced me pretty quickly,” said Jobe. “They did. It was great. I want to do it again.”

The high-energy atmosphere on Wednesday makes you wonder what a playoff game might feel like. It’s been a while.

“I know we have to earn it,” Hinch said. “We’re still working on it. But this place can be electric if we can host a postseason game here.”

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@cmccosky

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