Next stop: Playoffs! Tigers' ride remarkable run into MLB postseason.

DETROIT — To steal a line from former Pistons point guard Chauncey Billups, who, by the way, captained the last championship team in this city, “If it ain’t hard, it ain’t right.”

Everything about what the Tigers have done these last seven weeks has been hard. Some would’ve thought impossible, improbable for sure. But, as the sellout crowd of 44,435 at Comerica Park Friday night will happily attest, it was so right.

The Tigers, given up for dead at the trade deadline, eight games under .500 on Aug. 10, are going to play postseason baseball for the first time since 2014.

The festive crowd was on its feet from the seventh inning on as the Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox, 4-1, to secure a spot in the American League wild-card series.

The win eliminated the Minnesota Twins. The Tigers will open the postseason on Tuesday either in Houston or Baltimore. The win also relegated the White Sox to a dubious place in baseball history. It was their 121st loss of the season, surpassing the 1962 Mets for baseball ineptitude.

“We feel really good about how we’re doing it, not just what we’re doing,” manager AJ Hinch said before the game. “We put a lot of work in to play as consistently as we can and we’re bringing it every day. The DNA, the personality of this team is very special.”

It took a 31-11 rampage for the Tigers to put themselves in this position. And it’s been a parade of heroes.

Parker Meadows, with his two home run thefts — one in Seattle against Cal Raleigh and the other in Baltimore against Colton Cowser. Meadows again, with two dramatic game-winning hits: The walk-off single that beat the Yankees in the Little League Classic at Williamsport and, of course, the two-out, 3-2 grand slam homer that beat San Diego, 4-3.

Tarik Skubal was 6-0 during the run, posting a 1.96 ERA with 66 strikeouts and nine walks. The Tigers entire pitching staff was stellar, posting the lowest ERA and WHIP in baseball.

Keider Montero threw a Maddux (complete game shutout on fewer than 100 pitches) against the Rockies. Beau Brieske pitching out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam and then closing out an extra-inning win in Baltimore. Brieske and Brant Hurter setting down 21 straight hitters also against the Orioles.

Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter with multi-homer games. Matt Vierling, with his Kirk Gibson-esque dash and head-first slide across the plate, helping to secure the win Thursday that put the Tigers on the precipice of the playoffs.

It was the same all-hands effort Friday.

Opener Brenan Hanifee (two innings) and Hurter got the Tigers through six innings allowing only a solo homer by Zach DeLoach (against Hurter) and leaving a 2-1 lead to the back end of the bullpen.

The Tigers couldn’t get much going against White Sox lefty ace Garrett Crochet, but they knew he was on pitch restrictions and wouldn’t go much more than 60 pitches.

He was at 62 when got Trey Sweeney to ground out with the bases loaded to end the fourth inning.

The Tigers promptly put up two runs in the fifth. Lefty reliever Jared Shuster walked Jake Rogers and Andy Ibanez around a single by Meadows. A wild pitch brought Rogers home and a sacrifice fly by Vierling plated another.

Then came the seventh. Against another lefty reliever, Fraser Ellard, Ibanez doubled, went to third on an error by center fielder Dominic Fletcher and scored on a double by Greene.

Vierling, who was walked intentionally ahead of Greene, scored on the third White Sox wild pitch of the game.

The Tigers were nine outs away and the crowd was ready to party.

Will Vest got five fast outs, striking out Bryan Ramos and Korey Lee with high-octane heaters to end the eighth.

Hinch entrusted the next three outs to Tyler Holton, who has been the epitome of the Tigers’ selfless pitching staff. Since the start of July, he’s made 35 appearances. He opened eight games and finished 10 games. He has worked every inning one through nine and beyond.

After he got three outs and left to a standing ovation, his ledger showed just four earned runs in his last 52 innings.

The final out belonged to Jason Foley and he kickstarted the party, getting Andrew Vaughn to fly out.