BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox were hung over after a night of celebration from clinching a spot in the postseason. Top players Alex Bregman, Trevor Story and Jarren Duran weren’t in the starting lineup. Left-hander Connelly Early took the mound for the fourth start of his MLB career.

The Detroit Tigers didn’t let the opportunity slip away.

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The Tigers secured their spot in the 2025 MLB postseason with a 2-1 win over the Red Sox on Saturday, Sept. 27, in the second of three games at Fenway Park. A two-run single from Jahmai Jones in the fifth inning led to the victory.

It’s the second straight playoff appearance for the Tigers.

Not only did the Tigers (87-74) clinch a postseason berth, but they also took a half-game lead over the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Central Division race.

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The Guardians have two games remaining, including Saturday night’s game against the Texas Rangers, while the Tigers have one game remaining.

The Tigers can take the AL Central title with a win in Sunday’s finale and a loss by the Guardians in either of their final two games.

Even if the Guardians win out, the Tigers can grab the second wild-card berth (and a visit to the second-place finisher in the AL East, either the Toronto Blue Jays or New York Yankees) with a win over Boston on Sunday (3:05 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit).

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Tarik Skubal, scheduled to start Sunday should the Tigers need a win to make the playoffs, will now be the starting pitcher in Tuesday’s Game 1 wild-card series opener.

Scoring on Early, not so early

In Saturday’s win, the Tigers finally got to Early in the fifth inning.

In the fifth, the Tigers loaded the bases with two outs on Dillon Dingler’s single, Javier Báez’s single and Parker Meadows’ walk — leaving the big moment up to Jahmai Jones, whose role is to crush left-handed pitchers.

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Jones made the most of the matchup advantage.

He ripped Early’s second-pitch changeup into left field for a two-run, driving in Dingler and Báez. There was a plate at the plate, but Báez beat the throw from left fielder Masataka Yoshida with a slide that avoided the tag.

The single from Jones put the Tigers ahead, 2-1.