The Angels-Tigers game in Detroit starts about an hour before the Indians and Rangers get going tonight (8 p.m. Friday). The Tigers will start Michael Fulmer vs. Brett Oberholtzer. Fulmer is a Rookie of the Year candidate with a 10-4 record and a 2.58 ERA. Oberholtzer 3-2 with a 5.27 ERA.
This is only Oberholtzer’s fifth start of the season. The Red Sox hit two homers and scored six earned runs against Fulmer in his most recent start.
There is an expectation that the Tigers will increase the gaps between Fulmer’s starts to limit his innings pitched. That will come sooner if he continues to perform as he did against Boston and if the Indians bop their lead back up to seven or eight games in the next few days.
MLB.com estimates the Indians have a 96 percent chance of making the playoffs. The Tigers’ are figured at 46 Percent.
Many fans know of the Magic Number, meaning the wins and opponent losses needed for a team to clinch a title. MLB eschews the colorful nature of magic for the more preceise “E”, presumably for elimination. Unfortunatedly, teams really have multiple Magic Numbers, one for each team trailing them in the standings. The Tigers’ E number is 31 vis a vis the Indians. The Royals are at 29, meaning 15 Indians wins and 14 Royals losses sends them out of the division race. The ciphering gets even more complicated when considering the Wild Card possibilities and the chance that a trailing team like the Royals could leap ahead of both the Tigers and Indians.
Obviously, we are weeks away from a decisive game, so adopt the football bromide “Just win, Baby!.”

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