The Tigers beat the White Sox, 14-4. Ryan Raburn led the way with four hits, matching his career high, including a homer and double. He had four RBIs.
Raburn, a symbol of how his team has gotten better and better this season, wound up with the game ball. He caught a fly to right for the final out.
The last time the teams had met, eight nights earlier, the Tigers had won, 18-2. According to Baseball-Reference.com, these Tigers joined the '34 Tigers as the only teams in franchise history to score at least 14 runs in consecutive games against the White Sox.
In the 10-game winning streak, the Tigers have scored 84 runs. Speaking of 84, the '84 Tigers had a nine-game winning streak to begin and culminate the 35-5 burst to open the season.
This Tigers winning streak, like the 11-gamer in '68, began in early September and widened an already impressive first-place lead.
When this winning streak started, the Tigers led the White Sox and Indians by 51/2 games, and they still had six games left with each team. Now the Tigers lead both teams by 111/2 games.
The Tigers' magic number to eliminate the Indians is six and to eliminate the White Sox is five. When both those numbers get to zero, the Tigers will be Central Division champions.
Manager Jim Leyland, asked why things have come together, said: "Guys are really grinding out at-bats. Their concentration has been really good. I think they smell something. I think they want it. And they're working toward it. They've just got to work at it one day at a time."
Strangely enough, the Tigers for the next three nights might want to root for the Indians as they play the West-leading Rangers. The most important Tigers race now is to finish ahead of the West Division champion (the Rangers or Angels) and gain home-field advantage for the first round of the playoffs.
