The Detroit Tigers are still chasing the Chicago White Sox for the AL Central crown, but they have done well to cut Chicago's lead to one game heading into the action on Friday night. That's good news, because the Sox and Tigers haven't been playing as well as other playoff hopefuls in the AL and at the moment Detroit sits 5.5 games back of the Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees for the two wildcard spots. In other words, it looks like the division title is the only way either the Sox or Tigers will make it into the postseason tournament.

Detroit has one head-to-head game left against Chicago -- Monday, Sept. 17 at U.S. Cellular Field -- and the rest of the schedule shapes up as follows: at Indians (3x), at White Sox (1x), vs. Athletics (3x), vs. Twins (3x), vs. Royals (4x), at Twins (3x) and at Royals (3x).

For a complete look at MLB standings, be sure to check out Sports Illustrated. Here is a look at the AL Central race:

For more on the Tigers, stick with this StoryStream for scores and updates from the game, or check out Tigers blog Bless You Boys for commentary and analysis.