WEST SACRAMENTO, CA The Detroit Tigers traded Jack Flaherty to the Los Angeles Dodgers two summers ago and reeled off an improbable run to the postseason.A day ago, they traded Tarik Skubal to theDodgers.Is it fair to wonder if they can make another wild run?Eh, probably not.MITCH ALBOM: Losing Tarik Skubal is rough, but the process was worseEven thoughtheyrejust 2 games out of the American League's third and final wild-card spot,they havefive teams either tied or ahead of them,including thepeskyand dreaded Cleveland Guardians, who won again Sunday, Aug. 2, to hold onto their playoff spot.So, too, did the Tigers, beating the Athletics,11-0,at Sutter Health Park,to finish an three-game series sweep (as well as a six-game season sweep, the first of the A's by the Tigers since they both entered the AL in its charter season of 1901). Seattle isanother team between them and that last wild-card spot. As luck would have it, the Tigerswill travelto Seattle next.They leave West Sacramento without their ace; he was headed to Chicago to join the Dodgers for their series vs. the Cubs. But they also leave with sincere belief thattheyvegot enough talent to pull this off.When they play like this, and get contributions from unlikely places, and pitching from ascending places yes, were talking about the increasingly reliable Keider Montero it'sreasonable to dream.Celebrate 125 epic seasons of the the Tigers with our book!If not, what else is there?Before Sundays series finale, a few folks wearing As colors werespeculatingabout where theirclubsnext win might come from.So,keep that in mind.And theAshave averaged more than sevenrunsallowed per game at Sutter Health Park this season.Keep that in mind as well.Also keep in mind that not toolong ago,folks wearing theOld English "D" wondered the same about their club, about wheretheirnext win would come from.The Tigers are not there, at least. Hard to believe they were back in May.Have they earned the right to believetheyvegot a shot? Absolutely, and not just because of the symmetry of the trades that took place as bookends of a two-year span.They have the second-best record in the American League since the beginning of June.Thatsa decent sample size. Unlike in 2024, though, theydonthave Skubal for the stretchrun.They do, however, have relative health, a couple of dynamicrookies, and a couple of young pitchers who continue to look like frontline starters.At the plate: (Almost) everybody scoresOnce again, the Tigers jumped on theAsin the first inning. Gleyber Torres began things with a walk. Dillon Dingler, Sundays designated hitter,followed with a single and Spencer Torkelson continued his recenthot streak when he ripped a two-out double to drive in two runs.The Tigers added four more in the sixth when Torres also riding a recent heat wave at the plate singled, driving in Max Clark andBen Malgeri. Rookie Eduardo Valencia, giving Dingler a break behind the plate, doubled to left field(he had two doubles on the day and four RBIs),driving in Zach McKinstry and Torres.Speaking of Clark, therookiehit another single anddrew two more walks. Yes,they came against the Athletics' struggling starter, Gage Jump. And, yes,itsearly; this was Clark's third career MLB game. Still, he continues to show patience and savvyatthe plate, all at age 21.Meanwhile,Riley Greene got the day off. He needed it.Hedbeen chasing the last several games.On the mound: Keider Montero in controlMontero, on the other hand, isforcing hitters to chase. Not so much to induceswingsand misses thoughhelltake those but to get batters slightly off balance.He hasbeenlights-out in three of his past five starts, and respectable in the other two. He was dominant again Sunday, holding theAsto two hits and no runs over six innings. Again, keep the opponent in mind.Also keep this in mind:He has been effective all season, and versatile, too, giving A.J. Hinch a starter who he canuse in the bullpen and has though its hard to see Montero leaving therotation forthe rest of the season, especially if Casey Mize is traded.Even ifMize remains a Tiger, Montero has more than earned his spot alongside him in the rotation. And no matter whathappensthe rest of the way who stays, whoremainshe and Troy Melton looklike a good place to start the Tigers' rotation next season.Next up: The Emerald CityIt's on to Seattle for the Tigers (54-58), with a chance to jump ahead of the Mariners (55-58) in the wild-card chase. Thesearentlast years Mariners, who defeated the Tigers in a 15-inning Game 5 in the ALDS. Fans up in the Northwest are wondering how catcher Cal Raleigh managed to hit 60 home runslast year. In an injury-plagued season, he has 11 this season, andaneye-popping.162 batting average.The way this season has gone,itspossiblehellbust out of his season-long slump just as the Tigers arrive.Then again,itsAugust, andmaybe theTigers are an every-other-year-let's-make-a-push-late-in-the-summer team.If Mizeisnttraded by the 6 p.m. Monday deadline, he will pitch the series opener Tuesday (9:40 p.m., Detroit SportsNet), taking Skubal's spot. Melton and Framber Valdez are slated to be the next two starters, though Hinchwasntwilling to commit to anything ahead of the deadline.Contact Shawn Windsor:swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him@shawnwindsor.This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers keep pounding for first-ever season sweep of Athletics