The Tigers' postseason begins with the AL Wild Card Series on Tuesday, October 1st

On Friday night, the Detroit Tigers defeated the Chicago White Sox 4-1 to secure a playoff spot for the first time since 2014. In doing so, they handed the South Siders their record-breaking 121st defeat of the season. Despite a strong month in August, it took a 17-6 run with two games left in September to overtake the Minnesota Twins. The speed at which this came together and the absolutely tireless team effort required to make it happen undoubtedly left many fans breathless.

We weren't expecting that, so your first questions, assuming you haven't looked ahead, might be: Who will the Tigers play and what does the postseason schedule look like for them now?

Both the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals lost on Saturday, which is traditional after a crucial postseason bash the night before. As a result, the Tigers head into Game 162 against the Chicago White Sox on Sunday with a chance to decide their fate in the Wild Card Series.

Right now, the Tigers are miles ahead of the Royals and in fifth place in the American League. The fifth seed will play in Baltimore against the Baltimore Orioles, while the sixth seed, currently held by the Royals, is scheduled to travel to Houston. So the Tigers' opponent is in their hands. If they win on Sunday, they will play the Orioles in Baltimore for three days. If they lose and the Royals beat the Braves, the Tigers and Royals will tie for the regular season record, but with the Royals holding the tiebreaker, they are the fifth seed and the Tigers will return to AJ Hinch's old stomping grounds playing the Astros.

The New York Yankees and Cleveland Guardians have already secured the top two spots, securing a bye into the Divisional Series that begins next weekend. The Tigers currently hold a one-game lead over the Kansas City Royals with two games remaining. So things could change, but right now this is what things look like.

The Houston Astros are the No. 3 seed as the third-best division winner. The Baltimore Orioles have the best record among wild card teams and cannot be overtaken at this point, leaving them at No. 4. Currently the Tigers are in fifth place and the Royals are in sixth place.

The numbers 3 and 6 will face off in the Wild Card Series, as will the numbers 4 and 5. So right now the Tigers are scheduled to face the Baltimore Orioles. In the Wild Card Series, the team with the best record hosts all three games. This is intended to ensure a quick conclusion to the series so that the two top seeds do not have to wait a week to be able to play again. It also gives the team with the better record a strong advantage. If the Royals manage to overtake the Tigers after also clinching a spot on Friday night, the Tigers will face the Houston Astros.

In either scenario, both the Orioles and Astros will host the AL Wild Card Series. It's just a question of positioning for the Tigers and Royals.

Tuesday, October 1st

DET/KC @ BAL/HOU on ABC/ESPN

Wednesday, October 2nd

DET/KC @ BAL/HOU on ABC/ESPN

Thursday, October 3rd

DET/KC @ BAL/HOU on ABC/ESPN

Whatever the outcome, it will be an intense three-game away series with everything on the line for all four teams. The American League Division Series gives them a day off on Friday and begins with best-of-five matchups on Saturday, October 5 on TBS. The American League Championship Series is scheduled to begin with best-of-seven matchups on Sunday, October 13th. The World Series begins October 25 unless both league championship series end early.

Choose your poison

Between the Orioles and Astros, the Tigers will face some different challenges, but the two teams have been fairly comparable this season.

While the Orioles will finish with the better regular-season record than the Astros, the difference is one to three regular-season wins, depending on the outcome of Sunday's regular-season finale. Both teams are strong at home, with a 45-35 record for Houston and a 44-37 home record for Baltimore. Against .500 or better teams, Houston holds a record of 37-41, while Baltimore holds a record of 38-39 against those teams. The Tigers have a similar winning percentage against .500 or better clubs, but they have also played a tougher schedule by that metric, posting a record of 43-47 this year.

Of the two, the Orioles got off to a blistering 58-38 start this year and battled to the finish line in the second half with a score of 32-34. The Astros went the exact opposite way with a 50-46 start and a 38-28 score in the second half.

The Astros are obviously the much more experienced group, led by Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker. In contrast to that veteran experience, the young Orioles club is led by Gunnar Henderson and Adleyrutschman, although they also have more experienced players in Anthony Santander and Cedric Mullins.

Both clubs will have good starting players, while the Tigers will likely continue to improvise beyond Tarik Skubal in Game 1. For the Tigers, the matchup with Houston will likely be more difficult as they can field two good left-handed starters in Framber Valdez and Yusei Kikuchi, with Hunter Brown as the best right-hander and second-best starter in the second half. The Orioles don't have those left-handed starters to compete with the Tigers. Corbin Burnes and Zach Eflin are likely to start in Games 1 and 2 for the Orioles, with Albert Suarez expected to pitch Game 3 if needed.

Overall, the starting games for the young, left-handed Tigers are better against the Orioles. Compared to the Astros, they have a large number of hard left-handed hitters. The Astros boast Josh Hader late in games, which is a pretty bad opponent for the Tigers, but he's having a pretty boring year by his standards.

Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez suffered a minor knee injury last week, but the swelling has reportedly gone down, and while he may not be at 100 percent, the fearsome left-hander will likely be ready to go downhill for Houston. The Orioles have gotten a bit healthier over the past week with Jordan Westburg and Ramon Urias recently returning, but RHP Grayson Rodriguez doesn't look like he will be available.

Overall, the momentum is on the Tigers' side against both clubs, but especially against the Orioles. The Tigers went 2 of 3 at home from the Orioles in September, then went to Baltimore and went 2 of 3 there. While there is some familiarity among the Orioles with the Tigers' bullpen approach, they came in those two series not coping well with it.

I think my preference is for the Tigers to beat the White Sox on Sunday, clinch fifth place in the American League and head to Baltimore to seek revenge for the 2014 club. The Tigers likely won't have home-field advantage in any series, but considering they'll be playing all three Wild Card Series games on the road, their recent familiarity with Baltimore and confidence seem to be the best fit they've gotten in these two series .

The way the Tigers played may not matter, so take them one way or the other. But who do you prefer?