The Detroit Tigers entered the game on Labor Day trailing the first place Minnesota Twins by 43 games, with a winning percentage of .299, having been outscored by 269 runs for the season. By any definition, they are the worst team in baseball this season, while the Twins are closing in on a division title and a trip to the playoffs in October.
Detroit sent Jordan Zimmermann to the mound to face Jake Odorizzi. One of them a free agent bust with a $110 million price tag, and the other a free agent bargain who signed a one-year deal for $9.