KANSAS CITY -- The Tigers refuse to quit.

After dropping to 55-63 on Aug. 10, holding just a 0.2% chance to make the postseason, Detroit has rattled off a Major League-best 23 wins.

The young core, led by stellar starting pitching and an ever increasingly dangerous lineup, once again charged from behind in Monday’s 7-6 comeback win over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium.

But this one felt different. Detroit has been one of the hottest teams in the big leagues for over a month, sure, but with just 11 games remaining -- the postseason push is now real. And after Monday, Detroit’s playoff odds skyrocketed to 18.5%, almost doubling the 9.9% chance the Tigers had coming into the game.

The club is aware of how important these games are, so to rally on the road, erasing not one, but two four-run deficits after Bobby Witt Jr. clobbered a grand slam -- it’s a testament to how much this club has grown up in such a short span of time.

“That was probably the best game we’ve played all year as a team,” Colt Keith said. “To complete that, it was awesome. It took pitching, took hitting, took timely hitting, and it was just really fun.”

Keith’s two-run blast with the Tigers down 5-2 in the fifth fueled the rally and ignited a dugout that’s been suddenly bombarded by postseason discussion in the clubhouse. With Detroit’s win and Minnesota’s loss to Cleveland, the Tigers are now just 1 1/2 games behind the Twins, who hold the tiebreaker, for the third and final AL Wild Card spot.

And just as Detroit was rallying, a hard-to-miss score on the inside the left-center-field wall reflected how important the Tigers’ comeback would mean for a Detroit club looking to make the playoffs for the first time since 2014.

“No, I’m guilty of at least like, 50 times. I kept looking, and I saw the Guardians loaded them up, and then didn’t [take the lead],” Keith said. “And then I looked up the next inning, and they’re up 4-3 and I’m like, ‘Let’s go.’ And at that point, we’re making a comeback, so it’s a pretty good feeling.”

That good feeling carried over to the plate, where Wenceel Pérez came through with the game-tying knock -- a pinch-hit two-run double down the left-field line -- to tie it at 6 before Matt Vierling gave them the lead with an RBI single.

“Ice cold coming off a rehab assignment too. … For him to be able to get him timing down off that guy and hit a double off him was amazing,” Keith said. “Just one of the maybe 20 huge at-bats we had in this game that really helped us win.”

The Tigers erupted for 14 hits and all nine in the starting lineup either notched a hit, got an RBI or reached base. Royals starter, and AL Cy Young candidate, Seth Lugo, who had beaten Detroit twice previously this season, was tagged for four runs and couldn’t make it out of the fifth after not allowing any runs in the first three frames.

“So awesome. So proud of everyone. We kept fighting,” said Spencer Torkelson, who extended his hitting streak to seven games with two knocks. “Even though we didn't have a lot of success early on, I feel like we were working at-bats and made him a little tired and got him out of the game in the fifth inning. So that was huge to get to their bullpen. Huge clutch hitting by a bunch of guys. Awesome.”

Reese Olson went just 2 1/3 innings in his return from the IL, getting tagged for four runs, but Detroit’s bullpen, which has the third best ERA (3.60) in the AL this season, tossed 6 2/3 frames of two-run ball to seal the comeback. Will Vest and Beau Brieske each worked out of jams in the seventh and eight innings, respectively, to keep the one-run lead before Jason Foley closed it out.

The Tigers trailed a Wild Card spot by 9 1/2 games on Aug. 22 -- less than one month ago -- but now have the opportunity to hold a playoff spot in as little as 48 hours.

“It was an incredible win because of how we had to do it,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “From some near misses … a couple really big swings, and then held on at the end. … Incredible win and great performance by so many of our guys.

“We know what’s going on. We know how valuable wins are at this time of year. … We’re going to fight.”