Tigers clinch AL wild card, ending playoff drought with 4-1 win over record-breaking White Sox

DETROIT (AP) — Riley Greene hit an RBI double and the Detroit Tigers scored two runs on wild pitches in a 4-1 win over the record-breaking Chicago White Sox on Friday night, clinching a spot in the playoffs for the first time in a decade.

“Belief is a big thing,” Greene said. “We never stopped believing, and that’s what did it for us.”

Detroit completed a late-season surge to grab an American League wild card, and the White Sox earned an unwanted place in baseball history by setting a modern major league mark with 121 losses this season.

“They were still playing for something,” Tigers first baseman Spencer Torkelson said.

The Tigers will play at Baltimore or AL West champion Houston next week in a best-of-three Wild Card Series. They have been on a tear, winning six straight and 10 of 11 during a stunning run into the playoffs.

The White Sox broke the post-1900 record of 120 losses set by the New York Mets in 1962 during their first season. The overall record was set in 1899 by the Cleveland Spiders with a 20-134 record.

“I think the frustration began long before the number got here," Chicago interim manager Grady Sizemore said. “This was one of those things: You aren’t happy, but I don’t know if that would feel any different at 115 or 110.”

Taking advantage of playing a historically bad team, Detroit broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning on Jake Rogers’ run when Jared Shuster was charged with a wild pitch even though the ball didn’t hit the dirt just below catcher Korey Lee’s glove. Matt Vierling followed with a sacrifice fly.

White Sox rookie Zach DeLoach hit his first homer in the sixth to pull his lowly team within a run.

Greene restored Detroit’s two-run lead with a double in the seventh and Chicago helped the home team’s cause again later in the inning when Fraser Ellard threw his club's third wild pitch of the night.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch relied on his bullpen for the entire game, as he often has late in the season, and it worked again.

“I’m overwhelmed with joy because I get to watch a team grow up right in front of my eyes and now I get to watch this team play in October,” Hinch said.

Brenan Hanifee kept the White Sox scoreless for the first two innings, and Brant Hurter (6-1) allowed a run over four innings.

Will Vest and Tyler Holton combined to hold Chicago scoreless for 2 2/3 innings. Jason Foley got one out for his 28th save to the delight of fired-up fans, who stood and cheered for much of the night.

Shuster (2-5) allowed two runs in two innings. Ellard gave up as many runs (two) as he got outs.

After the final out, the White Sox quietly went to their clubhouse while the Tigers swarmed the field, hugging each other and posing for photos.

“It is tough watching them celebrate," Chicago starting pitcher Garrett Crochet said after throwing four scoreless innings. "That was us just a couple years ago.”

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Detroit had not announced a pitching plan for Saturday's game. RHP Sean Burke (1-0, 1.93 ERA) is scheduled to start for Chicago.

This story corrects Houston to AL West champion in the fifth paragraph.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Detroit Tigers catcher Jake Rogers celebrates with closer Jason Foley after defeating the Chicago White Sox to make the playoffs in a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Detroit Tigers catcher Jake Rogers, left, and relief pitcher Jason Foley celebrate after the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Detroit Tigers outfielder Parker Meadows celebrates after the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Chicago White Sox's Zach DeLoach (31) walks through the dugout during the ninth inning of a loss to the Detroit Tigers in a baseball game Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Members of the Detroit Tigers celebrate after the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Chicago White Sox's Garrett Crochet pitches against the Detroit Tigers during the second inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Chicago White Sox's Garrett Crochet pitches against the Detroit Tigers during the second inning of a baseball game Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Detroit Tigers' Andy Ibáñez doubles during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Detroit Tigers' Andy Ibáñez rounds second after a misplay by the centerfielder during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Detroit Tigers' Andy Ibáñez reacts after reaching third during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

The Detroit Tigers celebrate after defeating the Chicago White Sox to win a wildcard spot in the Major League Baseball playoffs Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Chicago White Sox's Andrew Vaughn (25) walks off the field as the Detroit Tigers celebrate after making the playoffs after a win in a baseball game Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Detroit Tigers' Matt Vierling celebrates after defeating the Chicago White Sox to get into the playoffs in a baseball game, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

The Detroit Tigers, including Tyler Holton (87), Jace Jung (17), Matt Vierling (8), Zach McKinstry, Trey Sweeney (27) and Kerry Carpenter, celebrate after defeating the Chicago White Sox to win a wildcard spot in the major league baseball playoffs, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sluggish December hiring concluded a year of weak employment gains that have frustrated job seekers even though layoffs and unemployment have remained low.

Employers added just 50,000 jobs last month, nearly unchanged from a downwardly revised figure of 56,000 in November, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate slipped to 4.4%, its first decline since June, from 4.5% in November, a figure also revised lower.

The data suggests that businesses are reluctant to add workers even as economic growth has picked up. Many companies hired aggressively after the pandemic and no longer need to fill more jobs. Others have held back due to widespread uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s shifting tariff policies, elevated inflation, and the spread of artificial intelligence, which could alter or even replace some jobs.

Still, economists were encouraged by the drop in the unemployment rate, which had risen in the previous four straight reports. It had also alarmed officials at the Federal Reserve, prompting three cuts to the central bank's key interest rate last year. The decline lowered the odds of another rate reduction in January, economists said.

“The labor market looks to have stabilized, but at a slower pace of employment growth,” Blerina Uruci, chief economist at T. Rowe Price, said. There is no urgency for the Fed to cut rates further, for now."

Some Federal Reserve officials are concerned that inflation remains above their target of 2% annual growth, and hasn't improved since 2024. They support keeping rates where they are to combat inflation. Others, however, are more worried that hiring has nearly ground to a halt and have supported lowering borrowing costs to spur spending and growth.

November's job gain was revised slightly lower, from 64,000 to 56,000, while October's now shows a much steeper drop, with a loss of 173,000 positions, down from previous estimates of a 105,000 decline. The government revises the jobs figures as it receives more survey responses from businesses.

The economy has now lost an average of 22,000 jobs a month in the past three months, the government said. A year ago, in December 2024, it had gained 209,000 a month. Most of those losses reflect the purge of government workers by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.

Nearly all the jobs added in December were in the health care and restaurant and hotel industries. Health care added 38,500 jobs, while restaurants and hotels gained 47,000. Governments — mostly at the state and local level — added 13,000.

Manufacturing, construction and retail companies all shed jobs. Retailers cut 25,000 positions, a sign that holiday hiring has been weaker than previous years. Manufacturers have shed jobs every month since April, when Trump announced sweeping tariffs intended to boost manufacturing.

Wall Street and Washington are looking closely at Friday's report as it's the first clean reading on the labor market in three months. The government didn’t issue a report in October because of the six-week government shutdown, and November’s data was distorted by the closure, which lasted until Nov. 12.

The hiring slowdown reflects more than just a reluctance by companies to add jobs. With an aging population and a sharp drop in immigration, the economy doesn't need to create as many jobs as it has in the past to keep the unemployment rate steady. As a result, a gain of 50,000 jobs is not as clear a sign of weakness as it would have been in previous years.

And layoffs are still low, a sign firms aren't rapidly cutting jobs, as typically happens in a recession. The “low-hire, low-fire” job market does mean current workers have some job security, though those without jobs can have a tougher time.

Ernesto Castro, 44, has applied for hundreds of jobs since leaving his last in May. Yet the Los Angeles resident has gotten just three initial interviews, and only one follow-up, after which he heard nothing.

With nearly a decade of experience providing customer support for software companies, Castro expected to find a new job pretty quickly as he did in 2024.

“I should be in a good position,” Castro said. “It’s been awful.”

He worries that more companies are turning to artificial intelligence to help clients learn to use new software. He hears ads from tech companies that urge companies to slash workers that provide the kind of services he has in his previous jobs. His contacts in the industry say that employees are increasingly reluctant to switch jobs amid all the uncertainty, which leaves fewer open jobs for others.

He is now looking into starting his own software company, and is also exploring project management roles.

December’s report caps a year of sluggish hiring, particularly after April's “liberation day” tariff announcement by Trump. The economy generated an average of 111,000 jobs a month in the first three months of 2025. But that pace dropped to just 11,000 in the three months ended in August, before rebounding slightly to 22,000 in November.

Last year, the economy gained just 584,000 jobs, sharply lower than that more than 2 million added in 2024. It's the smallest annual gain since the COVID-19 pandemic decimated the job market in 2020.

Subdued hiring underscores a key conundrum surrounding the economy as it enters 2026: Growth has picked up to healthy levels, yet hiring has weakened noticeably and the unemployment rate has increased in the last four jobs reports.

Most economists expect hiring will accelerate this year as growth remains solid, and Trump's tax cut legislation is expected to produce large tax refunds this spring. Yet economists acknowledge there are other possibilities: Weak job gains could drag down future growth. Or the economy could keep expanding at a healthy clip, while automation and the spread of artificial intelligence reduces the need for more jobs.

Productivity, or output per hour worked, a measure of worker efficiency, has improved in the past three years and jumped nearly 5% in the July-September quarter. That means companies can produce more without adding jobs. Over time, it should also boost worker pay.

Even with such sluggish job gains, the economy has continued to expand, with growth reaching a 4.3% annual rate in last year's July-September quarter, the best in two years. Strong consumer spending helped drive the gain. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta forecasts that growth could slow to a still-solid 2.7% in the final three months of last year.

FILE - A hiring sign is displayed at a grocery store in Northbrook, Ill., Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)