The Detroit Tigers were a seller at MLB's trade deadline on July 30, and at the time, the pessimism was entirely understandable. They had a 52-57 record, were dealing with various injuries and going nowhere fast.
So general manager Jeff Greenberg shipped pitcher Jack Flaherty to the Dodgers. Veteran outfielder Mark Canha went to the Giants. Reliever Andrew Chafin and catcher Carson Kelly were sent to the Rangers.
And then, somehow, the Tigers got better.
Young standouts like Riley Greene, Trey Sweeney, Kerry Carpenter and Colt Keith have gotten hot at the plate in September while lefty Tarik Skubal is among the leading candidates to win the AL Cy Young award.
Detroit has won 11 of its past 14 games to leapfrog the Minnesota Twins for the final American League wild-card spot with six games remaining. It's part of an exciting AL wild-card race that looked like an afterthought a few weeks ago.
The Kansas City Royals (82-74) and Tigers (82-74) would be the final two teams in the AL bracket if the season ended Sunday. The Twins (81-75) are one game back while the Mariners (80-76) are two games behind. There are six games remaining for all four teams.
“We still have a long way to go, so we’re going to stay grounded,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said.
The Twins have lost 11 of 17. The Royals have also nosedived, losing seven straight, including the past six at home. They have a 7-16 record since Aug. 28.
If the Arizona Diamondbacks don't make the playoffs this season, they'll likely look back at Sunday's collapse as a big reason.
The defending National League champions took an 8-0 lead in the third inning against the Milwaukee Brewers and looked like they were about to roll toward a four-game series sweep. Instead, the Brewers rallied for a 10-9 win.
It was the biggest blown lead that ended in a loss in Diamondbacks history.
“If you slice it up any possible way, you can’t give up seven runs in three innings,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said. “You’re going to lose a lot of baseball that way, if that’s what coming out of your bullpen. That is not our bullpen. They’re going to pick it up.”
The NL wild-card race remains tight with the San Diego Padres (90-66) close to clinching a spot. The New York Mets (87-69) and Diamondbacks (87-69) are currently in the final two wild-card positions while the Atlanta Braves (85-71) are lurking two games back.
The Cincinnati Reds fired David Bell on Sunday after six seasons with the team. The Reds expected to compete for the playoffs this season, but have been a disappointing club with a 76-81 record.
The manager movement probably isn't done yet. Miami's Skip Schumaker, Pittsburgh's Derek Shelton and Toronto's John Schneider are among a handful of dugout leaders whose futures are tenuous.
The Chicago White Sox fired Pedro Grifol and three coaches on Aug. 8, just days after the team ended a 21-game losing streak that tied the American League record.
The Seattle Mariners fired Scott Servais on Aug. 22, in the middle of his ninth season with the team.
What MLB season saw the most managers get fired?
The White Sox matched a post-1900 MLB record by losing their 120th game of the year, tying the 1962 expansion New York Mets after a 4-2 loss to the San Diego Padres on Sunday.
It remains to be seen how low they will go.
Chicago has six games remaining and still could be a playoff spoiler. The team's final series is against the Tigers, who will more than likely be fighting an AL wild card spot.
In 1991, there were 13 managers fired during the season or shortly afterwards. That was 50% of MLB teams.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Kansas City Royals' Salvador Perez watches from the dugout during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Jason Foley (68) and catcher Jake Rogers, left, celebrate after a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Baltimore. The Tigers won 4-3. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Detroit Tigers' Kerry Carpenter, top, celebrates after his home run in front of Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman, bottom, during the sixth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel on Monday urged residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate from homes and other buildings where it claimed Hezbollah has stored weapons, saying the military would conduct “extensive strikes” against the militant group.
It was the first warning of its kind in nearly a year of steadily escalating conflict and came after a particularly heavy exchange of fire on Sunday. Hezbollah launched around 150 rockets, missiles and drones into northern Israel in retaliation for strikes that killed a top commander and dozens of fighters.
There was no sign of an immediate exodus from the villages of southern Lebanon, and the warning left open the possibility that some residents could live in or near targeted structures without knowing that they are risk.
The increasing strikes and counterstrikes have raised fears of an all-out war, even as Israel is still battling Hamas in Gaza and trying to return scores of hostages taken in Hamas' Oct. 7 attack. Hezbollah has vowed to continue its strikes in solidarity with the Palestinians and Hamas, a fellow Iran-backed militant group. Israel says it is committed to returning calm to its northern border.
Associated Press journalists in southern Lebanon reported heavy airstrikes targeting many areas Monday morning, including some far from the border.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said the strikes hit a forested area in the central province of Byblos, about 130 kilometers (81 miles) north of the Israeli-Lebanese border, for the first time since the exchanges began in October. No injuries were reported there. Israel also bombed targets in the northeastern Baalbek and Hermel regions, where a shepherd was killed and two family members were wounded, according to the news agency. It said a total of 30 people were wounded in strikes.
The Lebanese Health Ministry asked hospitals in southern Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa valley to postpone surgeries that could be done later. The ministry said in a statement that its request aimed to keep hospitals ready to deal with people wounded by “Israel’s expanding aggression on Lebanon.”
An Israeli military official said Israel is focused on aerial operations and has no immediate plans for a ground operation. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with regulations, said the strikes are aimed at curbing Hezbollah's ability to launch more strikes into Israel.
Lebanese media reported that residents received text messages urging them to move away from any building where Hezbollah stores arms until further notice.
“If you are in a building housing weapons for Hezbollah, move away from the village until further notice,” the Arabic message reads, according to Lebanese media.
Lebanon's information minister, Ziad Makary, said in a statement that his office in Beirut had received a recorded message telling people to leave the building.
“This comes in the framework of the psychological war implemented by the enemy,” Makary said, and urged people “not to give the matter more attention than it deserves.”
It was not immediately clear how many people would be affected by the Israeli orders. Communities on both sides of the border have largely emptied out because of the near-daily exchanges of fire.
Israel has accused Hezbollah of transforming entire communities in the south into militant bases, with hidden rocket launchers and other infrastructure. That could lead the Israeli military to wage an especially heavy bombing campaign, even if no ground forces move in.
The military said it had targeted more than 150 militant sites early Monday. Residents of different villages in southern Lebanon posted photos on social media of airstrikes and large plumes of smoke. The state-run National News Agency also reported airstrikes on different areas.
An Israeli airstrike on a Beirut suburb on Friday killed a top Hezbollah military commander and more than a dozen fighters, as well as dozens of civilians, including women and children.
Last week, thousands of communications devices, used mainly by Hezbollah members, exploded in different parts of Lebanon, killing 39 people and wounding nearly 3,000. Lebanon blamed Israel for the attacks, but Israel did not confirm or deny any responsibility.
Hezbollah began firing into Israel a day after the Oct. 7 attack in what it said was an attempt to pin down Israeli forces to help Palestinian fighters in Gaza. Israel has retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict has steadily intensified over the past year.
The fighting has killed hundreds of people in Lebanon, dozens in Israel and displaced tens of thousands on both sides of the border. It has also sparked brush fires that have destroyed agriculture and scarred the landscape.
Israel has vowed to push Hezbollah back from the border so its citizens can return to their homes, saying it prefers to do so diplomatically but is willing to use force. Hezbollah has said it will keep up its attacks until there is a cease-fire in Gaza, but that appears increasingly elusive as the war nears its anniversary.
Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250. Some 100 captives are still held in Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead, after most of the rest were released during a weeklong cease-fire in November.
Israel's offensive has killed over 41,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and fighters in its count. It says women and children make up a little over half of those killed. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
Mroue reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed to this report.
Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes on Taybeh village, seen from the southern town of Marjayoun, Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Smoke rises from Israeli shelling on villages in the Nabatiyeh district, seen from the southern town of Marjayoun, Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes on villages in the Nabatiyeh district, seen from the southern town of Marjayoun, Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024.(AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
An armed Israeli fighter jet is seen from Haifa, northern Israel, on Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)
Israeli Iron Dome air defense system fires to intercept rockets that were launched from Lebanon, in northern Israel, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)
Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike on Kfar Rouman village, as seen from Marjayoun town, south Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike on Khiam village, as seen from Marjayoun town, south Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Israel calls on Lebanese to leave homes where Hezbollah stores arms as warplanes launch new strikes
Smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike on Kfar Rouman village, as seen from Marjayoun town, south Lebanon, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Israel calls on Lebanese to leave homes where Hezbollah stores arms as warplanes launch new strikes
