Parker Meadows returned to the Tigers lineup Monday. He had a double, a triple, made a brilliant diving catch and stole a base.
Of course he did.
There was concern after the Tigers averaged only three runs in their previous 15 games, even while going 9-6. The Tigers, hitting five home runs, three by Kerry Carpenter, scored nearly that many runs while downing the hapless Chicago White Sox 13-1.
Of course they did.
The Tigers have been incredible. There have been multiple turnarounds with Detroit sports teams lately. The Lions were 4-19-1 in the first season-and-a-half with Dan Campbell as head coach. They are 35-9 since. The Pistons won 14 games in 2023-24. They won 44 games in 2024-25.
The Tigers have a 40-21 record and are 70-34 since Aug. 11 of last season. Difficult to top that.
Last season, run prevention was the story, especially after Meadows, with his extraordinary defense in center, re-joined the club after a stint in the minors and augmented an already thriving pitching staff. But he hadn’t played this year until Monday. Problem? Nah, Javy Baez filled in as if center field has always been his position.
Power is a difference. The Tigers were 24th in MLB in home runs last year. This year, they are eighth. The Tigers' run differential is plus 98, tied with the Yankees for the best in MLB. That makes sense. They have the best record.
Whichever direction you look, the Tigers find ways to win. Sunday they took the deciding match of a three-game set with the Royals. The only run of the game scored on a wild pitch.
Riley Greene made a great play defensively Monday, sliding at the left field foul line and somehow snatching away an extra base hit as it was about to hit the chalk. Back at short, Baez flashed back to his salad days with magical glove work.
Worried about Jack Flaherty? He is back on track. Wondering about depth in the bullpen? The Tigers called up right-hander Dylan Smith, and he was popping 96 mph fastballs with a high spin rates into the glove during his MLB debut Monday.
Maybe it’s difficult to put a decade of miserable baseball aside, but it appears to be in the rearview mirror. The Tigers are playing like genuine World Series contenders.
Could it be they actually are? The evidence is piling up.
Their remaining strength of schedule is third-weakest in MLB at .493 percent. They have a full slate of games left with bottom-feeders like the A's, Pirates and Marlins. They have the Orioles, Angels and Rockies each remaining for a series, the latter two at home. The Tigers’ record against those three teams and the White Sox, who they play three more times this week, is a combined 12-1.
FanGraphs lists the Tigers' probable win total at 93.4, with a 96.4 percent chance of making the playoffs, and a nine percent shot at winning the World Series. Impressive, sure, but if anything the website might be underrating the Tigers.
The Tigers are way beyond the fluke stage.
The World Series is no longer a pipe dream. At this point, the Tigers' chances are as good as any club.