The Detroit Tigers earned a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday, inching closer to clinching a wild-card spot in the American League playoffs, and fans are excited for a possible playoff series in Detroit.

"It's exciting, said Dave Butler, 42, while playing catch with his 11-year-old son Ethan, both of Detroit, in front of Comerica Park before Wednesday night's game against the Rays.

"It's been 10 years since the last appearance and it's nice to see," Butler said.

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The Tigers, who were 47-50 and 6½ games out of a playoff spot at the All-Star break, have turned their season around and Tigers fans from all over the country are excited, including Tyler Santiago, 26, of New Jersey.

Santiago, a longtime fan of the Tigers, told the Free Press this was his first time all year getting to catch the Tigers in person.

"They've been hot and they're not stopping. I'm looking forward to watching them win some games. Riley Greene is my guy and I'm waiting for him to do something tonight," said Santiago.

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Entering Wednesday, the Tigers (83-74) had a two-game lead over the Minnesota Twins (81-76) and the Seattle Mariners (82-77) and were tied with the Kansas City Royals for the final two of three AL wild-card spots (with the Royals holding the head-to-head tiebreaker).

"It's not the same old Tigers. For the city of Detroit and for the fans, this is awesome, we've been waiting on this and it's here," Santiago said.

Jalen Williams is a reporting intern at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jawilliams1@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers fans are ready for return to MLB playoffs