Thanks to Dirks' Slide, Tigers Have Clawed Their Way Into First Place

Call him Dusty Dirks, and do it as a compliment, writes Bob Wojnowski in the Detroit News.

Andy Dirks' hard, clean slide to break up an apparent Royals double play allowed the lead run to score in the eighth inning, and the Tigers grabbed sole possession of first place with a 5-4 victory over Kansas City Wednesday night.

This was as tight as it gets, as good as it gets. The Tigers might be slogging through an ugly scrap, but it's the White Sox who are collapsing with seven losses in eight games. If the Tigers created their own fate, scrambling to grab a division they were preordained to win, they seem determined to fix it.

Tainted by inconsistency and taunted by time, they're showing the necessary desperation.