DETROIT -- When the Detroit Tigers clinched a berth in the playoffs on Friday night, it also guaranteed something else: Ace left-hander Tarik Skubal will start Game 1 of the Wild Series on Tuesday. The Tigers still don’t know who they’ll play in the first round of the playoffs, but there’s no doubt about who will be on the mound.

The improbable became reality on Friday night, as the Detroit Tigers defeated the Chicago White Sox, 4-1, to clinch an American League wild card berth and punch their ticket to the postseason for the first time in a decade.

The Detroit Tigers are three games up on the Twins in the AL wild-card playoff race; they can clinch a berth with a victory vs Chicago at home Friday.