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Then there was one.

The Tigers lost Thursday night, but inched forward all the same. They are so close now to clinching the American League Central, their next victory will do it.

The next Indians loss will, too.

Either way, on a night their 12-game winning streak ended with a 6-1 defeat to the Oakland Athletics, the Tigers saw their magic clinching number cut in half.

So there was no moaning about the streak ending. There was only the awareness of being even closer to winning the division.

Besides, the streak — as impressive as it was — was bound to end sooner or later. And at 12 in a row (the longest for the Tigers since 1934) , it certainly didn't end sooner.

But the Indians lost in Texas, reducing their tragic number to one. And the woeful White Sox were officially eliminated by losing in Kansas City — which...

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Related Topics: mlb, Detroit Tigers, Oakland Athletics