Pittsburgh — Maybe we need to look at this whole playoff chase differently.
Riding the standings rollercoaster right now doesn’t seem particularly useful. In one faltering weekend, the Detroit Tigers went from sniffing first place to 5.5 games back. Conversely, with one weekend sweep, the Orioles went from being dead in the water to suddenly in the thick of the wild-card race.
With nearly a quarter of the season left to play, these mini-runs and mini-skids probably aren’t as pivotal or fatal as they seem at the time.
A better way to do this, at least for now, might be to make it about the win total. Instead of counting games behind, count wins. Any team with a serious chance to get into the postseason is going to need a win total that’s in the 80s.
In that light, the Tigers picked up win No. 61 Monday night, hanging on to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-5 at PNC Park. (They have work to do both with their win total and their games behind, but, baby steps.)
The Tigers nearly let this one get away after building an 8-1 lead.
They jumped out to a fast 4-0 lead, all four runs coming with two outs against Pirates right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski.
BOX SCORE: Tigers 8, Pirates 5
Colt Keith, Zach McKinstry and Hao-Yu Lee all poked two-out singles in a two-run first inning.
In the second, after Gleyber Torres singled with two outs, Kevin McGonigle detonated a 0-1 cutter and sent it 405 feet to the concourse in right center. McGonigle, who had been in a 2-for-19 skid, ended up with a pair of hits in the game.
Max Clark, who also had two hits, lined an RBI single in the fifth.
Clark also saved two runs with an outstanding running catch with two on in the second inning. He raced back to the track in left-center and caught a drive by Jake Magnum just as he was hitting the fence.
The Tigers appeared to break it open in the top of the sixth, taking advantage of three straight walks by righty Yohan Ramirez. He walked Keith, McKinstry and, with the bases loaded, Lee.
Brett Callahan, in his second big-league game, capped the inning with a two-run single.
Lee was on base five times (three singles and two walks). McKinstry contributed two singles, a double and a walk.
At that point, lefty starter Framber Valdez had allowed one unearned run and three hits. But he would not survive the bottom of the sixth.
With two outs and a runner on second, he walked Rafael Flores Jr., Magnum to load the bases. He fell behind No. 8 hitter Nick Yorke 3-1 before putting a 92-mph sinker up and in the middle of the plate.
Yorke lined it into the corner in left, clearing the bases and ending Valdez’s night.
Kyle Finnegan entered and after getting two strikes on No. 9 hitter Henry Davis, he couldn’t put him away. Davis lashed an RBI single, making it a three-run game.
The Pirates, with an error by Javier Báez and a walk, had two on with one out in the seventh when Tigers manager AJ Hinch called on lefty Drew Sommers. He instantly stopped the bleeding.
He got Brandon Lowe to ground out and he struck out Flores to end the seventh. He pitched a clean eighth, striking out Yorke and Davis after retiring Magnum on a close 3-1 play at first base.
Spencer Torkelson, just in the game, fielded a high chop. Magnum and Sommers got to the bag at about the same time. Initially, Magnum was called safe. It was overturned on replay.
That left it to Kenley Jansen, who closed it out with no drama, earning his 16th save this season and the 492nd of his career.
This will be updated…
@cmccosky
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Kevin McGonigle homers to pace Tigers victory over Pirates