The Tigers have been surprising, entertaining and respectable.
Are they really playoff contenders, though?
We will know much more this weekend.
It's not just because of their five games in four days in Minnesota.
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The Blue Jays, the club the Tigers are chasing for the eighth and final playoff spot, are in Boston for five games. They rallied to win the first in extra innings Thursday. The Tigers are two games back of Toronto.
The Red Sox have swiftly morphed into perhaps the worst club in MLB and represent canon fodder for the Jays.
Toronto also added significantly at the trade deadline. One of the starting pitchers acquired, Taijuan Walker, threw six scoreless innings in his Blue Jays' debut. He pitched well Thursday as well.
Former Tiger Robbie Ray is now part of Toronto's staff, although he is struggling to throw strikes. The Blue Jays added second baseman Jonathan Villar from Miami. He has been among the MLB leaders in stolen bases.
The Twins have been decimated by injuries and looked like they had checked out last weekend when the Tigers stunningly garnered a three-game sweep. They've fallen behind Cleveland and the White Sox in the AL Central race, but have won two in a row. There is still plenty left in their lineup. However, the Tigers are just three games behind the Twins, who are just a game ahead of Toronto.
Today is arguably the biggest start of Matthew Boyd's career. He's tightened up his slider and has used his changeup more effectively his last two outings. I know USPBL darling Randy Dobnak is having an excellent season, but the Tigers should have the pitching matchup edge in Game 1 of the doubleheader, particularly considering the way they handled him last weekend. The Tigers have more issues with hard throwers than sinker ballers.
The doubleheaders are just seven innings. The Tigers bullpen is rested after an off-day Thursday. It would be a huge boost if Boyd comes up big.
The Tigers need to get out in front of this series or it could go sideways quickly.
The Twins have seen rookie Tarik Skubal. Expect an adjustment since he beat them last weekend. Casey Mize has to be better. Michael Fulmer must repeat his solid outing in Milwaukee -- and he must be followed with strong bullpen work, presumably from Daniel Norris.
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The Tigers have hit well lately, while finding a variety of manners to score runs. The Twins pitching has been excellent -- sixth in MLB in ERA (3.65) and fifth in WHIP (1.23). In contrast, the Tigers are 28th in MLB with a 5.47 ERA.
Everything about this weekend points to a standings correction for the Tigers, who last season finished with the fourth-worst record in the 162-game era -- dating back to 1961.
Yet, the Tigers have defied such logic so far this season.
Either way, it's a crossroad.
And it will be fascinating to see what direction the Tigers take.
