While the Astros fly to Anaheim to face an Angels team with the third-worst record in baseball since the break, the Tigers travel to Boston to face a Red Sox team still trying to cement a spot in the postseason. The Guardians, meanwhile, host a Rangers team that’s already been eliminated.

This is not how the Detroit Tigers drew it up at the beginning of the season. After leading the American League Central for the better part of the past five months, the Tigers’ playoff hopes and the outcome of the division come down to one weekend in Boston.

It’s not that the Tigers played poorly, it’s just that they can’t quite make the pitch when they need it ... or get the hit when they need it.

If the Tigers want to make the playoffs, they’re almost certainly going to have to win two out of three both in Cleveland and in Boston this week. Heading into the series at Cleveland, the Tigers lead the Guardians by one game in the standings. But really, they have to look at it as if the division is tied.

Detroit's slide continued in Cleveland on Wednesday night, with another loss to the Guardians — the team's eighth in a row overall — dropping the Tigers to now a full game behind their Central rivals in the division standings. Things are not going great right now, to say the least.

CLEVELAND -- The Detroit Tigers will try to snap their lengthy losing streak on Wednesday night at Progressive Field. They play the Guardians at 6:40 p.m. The Tigers (85-72) have lost seven straight and 10 of their last 11. They now trail the Guardians (85-72) in the AL Central by virtue of having lost the season series and the tiebreaker.

After losing two out of three games to the Cleveland Guardians during the week, the Detroit Tigers had the task of keeping their playoff hopes alive in their fi