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    • While Hinch mixes and matches, the Tigers continue to make magic
    Frisco

    While Hinch mixes and matches, the Tigers continue to make magic

    Bronwen Cerys Posted on

    Detroit — We’re running out of descriptions for these tigers.

    And after their latest heartbreaking victory, AJ Hinch’s team rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the late innings on Thursday afternoon to win their fifth straight game – and ninth in the last 10 – and clinch a victory over Tampa Bay, the Tigers’ manager, was asked to try on another one just to see if it would fit.

    MagicalPerhaps?

    “I don’t know,” he said with a smile, as the Tigers are now officially close to securing their first postseason berth in a decade. “But if so, bottle it and bring it further into the stadium.”

    However, Hinch knows that the parched baseball fans in this city need no reminder at this point. The playoffs are just around the corner and everyone can taste it. And as exhilarating as Thursday’s 4-3 win felt, Matt Vierling slid headfirst into home plate in the eighth inning after rookie Justyn-Henry Malloy made a close sacrifice throw, and then reliever Jason Foley sealed the victory with one 1-2-3 Ninth – the best part is there’s more in store.

    “I think we believe in it,” said Hinch, promising as much in his post-game press conference. “I said that over and over again while sitting at that microphone. And when we enter the stadium every day, we feel a new energy because of what is going on and because of what we believe we can achieve. Whether that’s magic, whether that’s momentum, whether that’s mojo, whether that’s vibe, whatever. We love it and we want more.”

    Here too, we are increasingly recognizing the possibilities. And Thursday’s save – which was the Tigers’ 36th comeback win of the season – was just the latest example of why Hinch’s counterpart in the visitors’ dugout used a different word to describe what became the biggest story has become major league baseball.

    So, two actually words.

    “They’re dangerous because they’re unpredictable,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “That’s how I see it.”

    And he would certainly know.

    A day after his team was eliminated from the playoffs for the first time since 2018, Cash, the majors’ longest-serving manager, had a front-row seat to another masterpiece from Hinch, who pulled out all the stops on Thursday to tip this in favor of the Tigers.

    And that’s essentially what the Tigers’ bench boss has done in this ridiculous run to the contest, with a final score of 30-11 that is the Tigers’ best over that span since 2011.

    Hinch’s unorthodox approach to his pitching rotation, a bizarre mix of “openers” and “bulk relievers” born out of necessity after the trade deadline, proved to be more of a catalyst than anything catastrophic. And the way Cash, a two-time AL manager of the year, sees it now, there’s nothing that says this can’t continue into the postseason, assuming the Tigers make it.

    This is not the type of team the Rays manager faced in the 2019 postseason, when his team lost a division series to Hinch and the Houston Astros — led by their dominant starting rotation — en route to another World Series. But it Is one that could set up the Astros or Baltimore Orioles in a best-of-three AL Wild Card series next week, in large part because Hinch seems to have such a good feel for how to do it All the parts fit together here.

    Assuming the Tigers can secure a spot in the playoffs before Sunday, top player Tarik Skubal will be scheduled for the first game next Tuesday. And then it will likely be Hinch who works his magic with the rest of what Cash calls an “elite” mix of would-be starters and reliable backups.

    “I mean, the thing that gets lost in all these bullpen days is that they only work if you have good pitchers,” Cash said. “And since they started getting creative, I think that fits with the run that they’ve been on. Look, AJ is incredibly thoughtful and knowledgeable. He will know his team better than anyone. And you can’t argue with the success that they’ve had and a lot of the decisions he’s made therein.”

    A day after using six pitchers in a 7-1 win over the Rays, Hinch used four different players on Thursday – starting with Reese Olson – to finish that play. He also used all 14 of his position players, a flurry of plays including four pinch-hitters and nine defensive changes, all starting in the sixth inning.

    And of course, it was the last player off the bench – Malloy, the rookie, right-handed hitting outfielder who had been surprisingly left out of the starting lineup – who ended up driving in the winning run. However, Malloy didn’t sulk over this lineup decision, instead staying prepared. Hinch had told him he would come to the plate in the late innings, and indeed he did, replacing lefty slugger Kerry Carpenter with two ons and two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning.

    “AJ does a really good job of predicting the game,” said Malloy, who took a 3-2 slide hit from the Rays’ Garrett Cleavinger to send Vierling home from third before throwing from center field. “It’s kind of strange how he knows that. It’s just that chess game on the baseball field, which is great.”

    And that’s great, isn’t it? The announced crowd of 27,867 for Thursday’s matinee was back on its feet and roaring in the eighth inning, “and it was like a party in the dugout,” said Malloy, who joked that he “kind of fainted” as he watched , as Vierling scored the winning run. “It was cool.”

    Friday night could and should be even cooler as Comerica Park will be packed to the brim for a playoff victory against the Chicago White Sox, arguably the worst team in MLB history.

    And for a young ball club just starting to grow up, this might be just the right mix and the perfect matchmaker.

    “We know what’s at stake, as I keep saying,” said Hinch, who led the Astros to the postseason four times in his five years there and won it all in 2019. “I mean, this is an incredible experience,” and we don’t want it to stop, and it doesn’t have to stop if we can keep it up.

    “But I know what it feels like to achieve something and I want so badly for these guys to get a taste of it. And we’re getting closer every day.”

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    Bronwen Cerys
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