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    • Jason Foley’s rejuvenation process matched the Tigers’ season-ending rampage
    Suffolk

    Jason Foley’s rejuvenation process matched the Tigers’ season-ending rampage

    Caradoc Wyn Posted on

    Detroit – When Jason Foley, undrafted out of Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, showed up for his first taste of professional baseball at short-season Class A Connecticut in 2016, the Tigers were in the midst of what would be their last winning season she seven years.

    His teammates included Kyle Funkhouser, Bryan Garcia, John Schreiber and Gregory Soto – all pitchers with whom he would rise in the rankings. Little did Foley know that he would be the one from that group to play on the next winning Tigers team that went to the playoffs.

    “Yeah, there were a couple of attempts to rebuild from there that didn’t work out so well,” Foley said before Friday’s game. “They hadn’t made the playoffs in a while. We hope to bring that back to Detroit and make the playoffs for this city.

    “You deserve it.”

    Foley’s season mirrored that of the Tigers. He started strong, struggled through the middle months and finished the race flat out.

    “His development back into someone that I have no hesitation in giving the ball to at the end of the game, regardless of who comes forward (to score), has been a key component in all of these close games going our way,” said manager AJ Hinch.

    The Tigers entered Friday’s game having won 13 of their last 15 one-run games. They are 31-24 overall in one-run games.

    And since August 4, when the Tigers were 32-15, Foley has allowed just four earned runs in 20⅓ innings, saving 12 games in 13 chances and holding hitters to a .143/.218/.200 slash line .

    After being briefly left out of leverage innings, he was Hinch’s primary reliever, getting the final three outs in wins.

    “That doesn’t mean it has to be perfect,” Hinch said. “We are still pushing him to make better use of his skills and challenging him. We have a lot of options at the end of the games. It takes a lot of guys making adjustments throughout the year to finish as strong as these guys.

    “Jason is a good example of that.”

    Foley saved his 27th game on Thursday, electrifying defeats of Josh Lowe and Jose Siri and bringing the Comerica Park crowd to its feet.

    “You can tell by the way we play that we have success (the close games),” Foley said. “That’s how playoff baseball works. You play against the best 11 teams in the league and if we do that, every game will be close.

    “If anything, these games prove we are ready for October.”

    Like game 7

    There was a certain amount of anticipation and nervousness in the clubhouse before the game. But there was also the reality that the season, or the search for the wildcard spot, wasn’t over yet.

    Matt Vierling remembers being in the same situation with Philadelphia in 2022 before they began their run to the World Series.

    “You get butterflies,” he said. “You watch the scoreboard and do everything you can to control the emotions. Because you want it so bad. I just remember the butterflies.

    “I mean, Aaron Nola threw eight innings of no-hit ball, so that helped a lot. But he has a similar feeling. We’ve worked really hard to get to this point and we’re not there yet.”

    Hinch expressed a similar opinion. He was asked if he would still handle Friday as if it were Game 7, even though Saturday’s game might still have meaning.

    “I’ve been doing it like it’s Game 7 for two months,” he said with a laugh. “That’s what it feels like. Of course we want to win the game tonight and we will use the guys who can help us win tonight.

    “You will see us playing the same brand of ball that we do. There are no squares in our sport. In our sport there is no way to deflate the ball. No squatting. We have to go and play all nine innings to win.”

    Around the Horn

    Question to Hinch before the game: “Since August 11th, have you been bothered at all about how your team has turned the season around?”

    Hinch’s replied: “I don’t pinch myself. Nobody pinches me. No pinching.”

    [email protected]

    @cmccosky

    White Sox at Tigers

    ▶ First pitch: 1:10 p.m. Saturday, Comerica Park, Detroit

    ▶ TV/Radio: BSD/97.1

    SCOUTING REPORT

    ▶ RHP Sean Burke (1-0, 1.93), White Sox: This is his fourth big league game and third appearance, and his last one was impressive. He limited the Padres to two hits and one run over six innings with eight strikeouts in San Diego. He has a solid, 95 mph four-seater that does well because he’s 6 feet tall and has a 7-foot extension. He also has a good slider (43% whiff rate in the small sample) and curveball (hitter 1 for 11).

    ▶ TBA, Tigers: The opener bulk reliever options for this game will become clearer as we see who and how many pitchers manager AJ Hinch needs to get through Friday’s game. Left-hander Brant Hurter would have been in line to pitch Friday, as would right-hander Ty Madden. Right-hander Kenta Maeda would also be available for multiple innings each day.

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    Caradoc Wyn
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