Wild Card race may hinge on showdown with O’s

DETROIT — The schedule gave the Tigers an off-day Thursday to regroup from their gut-wrenching 7-4 loss on Wednesday to the White Sox. Come Friday, they get their reason to refocus.

Detroit’s last series with an American League team outside the AL Central comes this weekend, when the Orioles roll into Comerica Park for three games. For all the focus on upcoming series against the division-leading Indians, these could be the three biggest games the Tigers have left to determine their postseason fate.

With six teams separated by five games for two AL Wild Card spots three-plus weeks to go, it’s not exactly an elimination series. But with Baltimore holding the second spot and Detroit only a game behind, it’s a series that could define the race down the stretch.

• AL Wild Card standings

It’s the stroke of scheduling fortune the Tigers needed, from a schedule that was set a year ago.

“It’s probably a little ironic that we’re facing Baltimore in September, out of division — or fortuitous, depending on your outlook,” manager Brad Ausmus said. “But it’s an important series. Both teams are trying to clinch a playoff spot, and they’re essentially fighting for the same ones right now.”

For each team, it’s the more realistic path to the playoffs. Though the third-place O’s sit just two games behind the Red Sox and one game behind the …

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