The Detroit Tigers clinched their first playoff spot in 2014 after Cameron Maybin homered and drove in four runs, and manager Brad Ausmus moved Kerry Carpenter from right field to pitcher for the final out to finish up a winning season with a 5-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday.
Detroit had to wait at least until the last day of the regular season to know if it could land a wild card and a possible trip back to Minnesota to face the Twins. The Tigers had lost seven of their last nine games going into Sunday, but the Toronto Blue Jays eliminated the Los Angeles Dodgers with a win Sunday.
“It’s exciting to get in,” Catcher Joe Hudson said, “but it’s not much of a celebration because we expect more of us.”
Maybin’s homer ignited a three-run eighth inning, which helped Detroit to secure one of two AL wild cards. Detroit trailed one of those teams by four games with four games left, but the Tigers could have finished no worse than the AL’s second wild card. Detroit will face the Blue Jays or Twins in the playoffs starting Tuesday.
Ausmus improved to 3-10 in his three-year managerial career with five playoff wins in his six years as an assistant with the San Diego Padres. He has a career postseason record of 8-9, all with the San Diego Padres.
The Tigers played their last 67 games without star first baseman Miguel Cabrera, who missed the final three games of the season with a strained lower back. Catcher James McCann got his first start in a week, throwing two shutout innings in Detroit’s penultimate game.