A lot has changed for the Detroit Tigers since last summer. The Tigers were a mediocre team for the majority of last season, but something clicked late in the year.

They went on an improbable run in the final month and a half to make the playoffs, and they have been one of the best teams in baseball since. Detroit is currently an MLB best 38-20, and the mentality of this team has completely switched because of it.

The Tigers came through in the clutch once again on Friday night to pick up that 38th win against the Kansas City Royals. It was tight going into the final innings, but Detroit just knows how to win baseball games.

“I feel like we expect to win,” Spencer Torkelson said after the game according to an article from MLB.com. “A couple years ago, it’s like, ‘How are we going to lose this one?’ But this year, it’s like, ‘How are we gonna win it?’ There’s so many opportunities and so many guys that can win this game for us, so it’s just trusting in that.”

The Tigers led 4-3 after three innings on Friday night, and it was eventually 5-4 going into the eighth. A Spencer Torkelson home run gave Detroit a bit of a cushion, and it took some of the stress off of the bullpen. This team is doing everything right in the big moments.

“I think it just goes to show that we’re doing little things right,” he added. “Our pitchers are executing in big situations. We’re making the plays behind them when we need to.”

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Torkelson had a huge game as he also knocked in a run in the fifth inning on a liner to left field. His home run came with two strikes, and his approach in that count is what helped him hit the long ball.

“Just choke and poke, just get the barrel to the ball,” Torkelson said. “I felt like my two-strike approach was lacking a little bit, so I just wanted to shorten up and get the fastball a little deeper, and he just hung that changeup.”

Catcher Dillon Dingler also had a massive game for the Tigers. He hit a two-run homer in the second inning, and then he knocked in another run on a single in the eighth that put Detroit up 7-4.

“We were trying to set ourselves up for the rest of the series because we knew they'd have to use the ‘pen,” he said. “We knew that he probably wasn't going to go 80, 90, 100 [pitches] that he usually does; we were able to get a few of their relievers in there, and that was a win for us.”

The Tigers ended up winning the game 7-5, and they will look to take another from Kansas City on Saturday with ace Tarik Skubal on the mound. The two teams will get underway at 3:10 CT from Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.