ALDS schedule gives Tigers' pitching best of both worlds

CLEVELAND -- The Tigers finally relented a tad from the “pitching chaos” that became the theme of their American League Wild Card Series win over the Astros. Manager A.J. Hinch announced that Tyler Holton will start Game 1 of their AL Division Series against the Guardians, serving as an opener.

But the fact that Holton, primarily a lefty reliever, will get two starts in this postseason before Tarik Skubal speaks volumes of the Tigers’ approach.

“We're going to start with Tyler Holton tomorrow to open the game,” Hinch said, “and then as usual, we're going to go a lot of different ways.”

That won’t change as Detroit transitions from the best-of-three Wild Card Series to a best-of-five Division Series. If anything, it could intensify.

“Obviously we're all hands on deck,” Hinch said. “Nothing's changed. We didn't transform our strategy from one series to another. We're going to still attack them as much as we can with as many arms as we can and try to create advantages when we can.”

It’s a longer series, sure, but it’s also over a longer stretch of days. And one additional off-day between Games 1 and 2 could make a big difference in how the Tigers set up their pitching.

Essentially, it’s the best of both worlds. Instead of starting Skubal on short rest for Game 1 on Saturday in order to have him available later in the series, the Tigers will line up the American League’s pitching Triple Crown winner for Game 2 on Monday on five days’ rest and still have him available on regular rest for a potential winner-take-all Game 5.

Meanwhile, no Tigers reliever will pitch on back-to-back days unless they work Games 3 and 4 at Comerica Park. By contrast, Holton, Will Vest and Beau Brieske all pitched Tuesday and Wednesday in Houston.

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“It may change a little bit how aggressive we are in Game 1,” Hinch said.

Can it be much more aggressive than the Tigers’ approach in their series-clinching game in Houston? Seven Detroit pitchers combined to hold the Astros’ formidable lineup to two runs -- both off top pitching prospect Jackson Jobe -- on five singles. No Tigers pitcher faced the same Astros hitter twice, and only Brenan Hanifee -- who followed Holton’s one-inning start -- threw more than 30 pitches.

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The one major difference could be the versatility of the lineup they’re matching up against. While all the mixing and matching against the Astros looked complex, it started with a simple goal: Match up lefty relievers against left-handed sluggers Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez, with some extra consideration given to right-handed-hitting leadoff hitter Jose Altuve ahead of them. The only right-hander to face Tucker in the series was Brieske, who struck him out.

The Guardians provide a tougher challenge matching up, with switch-hitting slugger José Ramírez at the center of the lineup. He destroyed left-handed pitching this series for a .348 average and 1.081 OPS, compared to a .254 average and .797 OPS vs. righties. That includes Holton, off whom he’s 3-for-7 with two doubles and an RBI.

“He's probably going to be the most important matchup,” Holton said. “I know we had intentionally walked him in past games and whatnot.”

Left-handed leadoff hitter Steven Kwan, meanwhile, hit better off lefties in the regular season (.319 average, .839 OPS) than he did against righties (.280, .774). Behind Ramirez is lefty-hitting cleanup batter Josh Naylor, who was more effective against right-handers but held his own off lefties.

According to Baseball Reference, the Guardians had the platoon advantage in 71.6 percent of their plate appearances in the regular season, five percentage points better than the next-highest Major League club and 17.5 percent above league average. Their mix of left-handed, right-handed and switch hitters make them difficult to match up against. The Tigers, who deployed pinch-hitters and platoons often throughout the season, ranked 11th at 55.2 percent.

“It's going to come down to just a few pitches in the game that's going to turn the direction their way or our way,” Holton said. “So each and every pitch is going to have huge implications, and I don't know who's going to be in the game when those pitches come. But hopefully we're going to be coming out on top.”

The most critical figure in all the mixing and matching could be the constant: catcher Jake Rogers calling pitches and executing a game plan while reading swings and reactions from a group of hitters who are notorious for putting tough pitches in play.

“I think A.J.’s going to throw the arms that he thinks best fits for that part of the lineup,” Rogers said, “and it’s on me and him to go through that lineup and trust the game plan that we put together to get those guys out, whether they’ve seen them the first couple days of the series or they haven’t. Keep our nose down and stick to it. It’s been working.”